This  book  is  DUE  on  the  la 
date  stamped  below 


f^OM  7 ,     ^ 


JUL  5 
l*Ay  1  8  t9 

MAY  1  4 1962  ' 


UNIFORM  WITH  THIS  VOLUME 

SIR    GEORCIE    TRESSADV.  Mrs.  Huiitphry  Wayd. 

THE    FARM    OF    THE    DAGGER.  Eden  FhillpoiU. 

THE  EXPENSIVE  MISS  DU  CANE.  -V.  Maaiauglttan. 
LADV    ROSES    DAUGHTER.  Mrs.  llumf-hry  Ward. 

THE  PROFESSOR  ON  THE  CASE.  Jacques  Futrelle. 
LOVE  AND  THE  SOUL  HUNTERS.  Jolui  O.  Hobbes. 
THE  SECRET  OF  THE  LEAGUE.  Ernest  Braiiiak. 
VALERIE   UPTON.  iVm  A.  D.  Sedgwick. 

THE  FIRST  MEN   IN  THE  MOON.  H.G.  Wells. 

K.ATHARINE    FRENSHAM.  Beatrice  II arradeti. 

THE  WAR  OF  THE  CAROLINAS.  Meredith  Nicholson. 
HIsTORV  OF  DAVID  GRIEVE.  Mrs.  Ilumplny  Ward. 
ROM.'VNCE.  Joseph  Conrad. 

THE    PRIMROSE    PATH.  Mrs-  Oliphant. 

KIl'P.S.  H.G.  Wells. 

MARRIAGE  OF  WILLIAM  ASHE.  Mrs.  Humphry  Wat d. 


THE    GODS. 


C.  J.  Cutclife  Hyne. 

Mrs.  A.  Sidgunck. 

E.  W.  H ornung. 

Agnes  d"^  Egerton  Castle. 

H.  G.  Wells. 

Mrs.  Humphry  Ward. 

H.  C.  Bailey. 

J.  Meade  Falkner. 

Jack  London. 

LEWISHAM.  //.  G.  Wells. 

Mrs.  Humphry  Ward. 

Sir  G.  Parker. 

Eden  Phillpotts. 


THOMPSON'S  pro(;ress. 

CYNTHIA'S   WAY. 

RAFFLES. 

FRENCH    NAN. 

THE    FOOD    OF 

M.\RCELLA. 

SPRINGTIME. 

MOON  FLEET. 

WHITE    FANG. 

LOVE    AND     Ml 

ROBERT    ELSMERE. 

THE   BATILE   OF    THE   STRONC;. 

THE   AMERICAN    PRISONER. 

FORTUNE   OF  CHRISTINA  M'NAB 

THE   A.MERICAN. 

SELAH    HARRISON. 

A    LAME    DOGS    DIARY. 

And  Many  Other  Equally  Popular 
Copyright  Novels. 


S.  Macnauglitan. 

Henry  James. 

S.  Macnaughian. 

S   Macnauglitan. 


NELSON'S    LIBRAR  V. 


The  princess  swept  by  him  with  an  air  of  ineffable 
disdain. 


98i)7H 


C  C    »  •  •  • 


TO 

MY    DEAR   FRIEND 

CRITIC,  SISTER 

I    AFFECTIONATELY    DEDICATE 
THIS    BOOK 

E.  F.  BENSON 


CONTENTS. 


Introductory        .... 
I.  The  Girl  is  Mother  to  the  Woman 
II.  A  Fool  comes  to  Rhodop^ 
III.  Marriage-Bells  and  Systems 


IV.  The  Last  Days  of  Prince  Demetrius    65 


V.  Enter  the  Centipede   . 
VI.  The  New  Member 
VII.  The  Princess's  Club    . 
VIII.  Plots  and  Counter-Plots    . 
IX.  The  Princess  returns 
X.  The  Princess  is  very  much  there 
XL  A  Fool  leaves  Rhodop^ 


XII.  The  Education  of  the  Heir-Apparent  209 


XIII.  The  Plague-Spot  spreads 
XIV.  Bang!     .... 

Epilogue 


5 

33 

50 


72 

93 

107 

135 
167 

184 

200 


239 
257 

273 


THE    PRINCESS    SOPHIA. 


-♦♦- 


INTRODUCTORY. 

THE  independent  principality  of  Rhodope  lies, 
as  everyone  knows,  on  the  wooded  coast-line 
of  Albania.  Its  territory,  no  greater  than  the  area 
of  the  English  counties  palatine,  is  triangular  in 
shape,  the  base  of  the  triangle  (a  line  some  twenty 
miles  long  if  measured  as  the  crow  flies,  but  more 
like  a  hundred  if  we  follow  the  indentations  and 
promontories  of  that  superbly  fertile  land),  being 
washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Adriatic.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  south  by  the  kingdom  of  Greece,  and  up  to 
its  northern  border  extends  the  benign  rule  of  that 
most  pitiful  and  Christian  monarch  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey. 

Rhodope  preserved  during  the  Graeco-Turkish 
War  of  1897  (I  am  almost  ashamed  to  remind  my 
readers  of  events  so  recent)  a  strict  neutrality, 
though  the  offers  made  it  by  both  one  side  and  the 
other  might  well  have  been  enough  to  turn  a  less 
level  head  than  that  of  Prince  Leonard,  the  ruling 


6  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

sovereign.  For  an  Imperial  Irade,  with  promise  of 
a  definite  Hatt  (I  think  I  have  the  tenns  correctly), 
arrived  from  the  most  Christian  monarch,  prospec- 
tively granting  the  cession  of  Corfu  to  the  Prince, 
when  Greece  lay  crushed  beneath  the  heel  of  the 
Sultan,  if  only  his  beloved  brother  (so  the  Sultan 
was  pleased  to  say)  would  join  the  cause  of  the 
imminently  victorious  Turks  ;  while  from  the  other 
side  a  cleverly  worded  sketch  pictured  the  immense 
advantage  it  would  be  to  Rhodope  if  by  an  exten- 
sion of  its  territory  it  was  so  arranged  that  the 
Upper  Valley  of  the  river  Strypos — the  Golden  River, 
as  it  is  not  inaptly  named — a  plain  of  surpassing 
fertility,  and  odorous  with  the  finest  growths  of 
tobacco,  should  pour  its  revenues  into  the  coffers 
of  the  Prince. 

Indeed,  Prince  Leonard,  when  these  two  proposi- 
tions, which  arrived  almost  simultaneously,  were 
under  his  consideration,  must  have  had  a  strong 
head  not  to  have  been  overcome  by  the  intoxication 
of  one  or  the  other  prospect.  He  knew — and  sober 
and  bald  politicians  tell  me  that  he  did  not  over- 
estimate the  importance  of  his  position  (a  malady 
most  incident  to  autocrats) — that  the  balance  of 
power,  inevitably  determining  the  result  of  the  war, 
as  he  sided  with  Turkey  or  Greece,  was  in  his  hands  ; 
also  he  would  have  the  singular  pleasure  of  perhaps 
playing  the  deuce  with  that  wonderfully  harmonious 
comic  opera  the  Concert  of  the  Powers.  A  scribbled 
word  from  him  would — and  he  was  not  too  sanguine 
in  so  believing — give  him  Corfu  if  the  envelope  of 


INTRODUCTORY.  7 

his  reply  was  addressed  to  Yildiz  Kiosk,  or,  if  to  the 
Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  Athens,  the  nicotic 
valley  of  the  Upper  Strypos. 

A  glance  at  the  map  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the 
key  of  the  crisis  was  assuredly  his.  If  he  allied  him- 
self with  Greece,  in  a  few  hours  his  artillery  could 
be  coolly  shelling  the  fortress  of  Janina,  the  slow, 
inevitable  advance  of  the  Turkish  army  down  the 
defiles  of  the  Melouna  Pass  would  be  checked,  and 
their  overwhelming  superiority  of  numbers  against 
a  vastly  inferior  force  would  be  neutralized.  They 
could  not  possibly  advance  into  Greek  territory 
leaving  so  important  a  town  as  Janina  in  the  hands 
of  their  enemy's  ally,  and,  indeed,  the  Sultan,  with 
his  world-famous  frankness,  had  confessed  as  much 
in  his  letter.  His  Imperial  Majesty  might  advance, 
if  he  pleased,  through  Thessaly  ;  meantime  Prince 
Leonard,  with  his  very  adequate  force  of  Albanians, 
men  of  the  mountain  and  the  sea,  and  the  best- 
drilled  soldiers  in  the  world,  would  be  quietly  eating 
their  way  eastward,  and  at  the  end  the  Turks  would 
infallibly  find  themselves  cut  off  in  the  enemy's 
country.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Sultan  directed 
his  first  advance  against  Rhodope,  the  Greeks  would 
stream  through  the  eastern  passes,  attacking  instead 
of  defending,  and  again  take  him  in  the  rear.  Be- 
sides, to  advance  into  Rhodop6  much  resembled  an 
attempt  to  take  a  hornets'  nest  by  daylight.  For 
a  score  of  years  Prince  Leonard  had  lavished  the 
revenues  of  the  country  on  its  army  and  navy ; 
English  and  German  officers  had  drilled  his  men 


8  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

into  a  perfect  machine  of  war  ;  the  steel  of  the  great 
workshops  of  the  world  had  been  perched  in  the 
mountainous  and  almost  impregnable  passes  into 
the  principality  ;  French  engineers  had  exalted  his 
valleys,  and  brought  low  his  hills,  flinging  down 
military  roads  east,  west,  north,  and  south — the 
whole  kingdom,  a  man  might  say,  had  been  forged 
into  one  cannon.  Nor  had  the  Prince  neglected  the 
defence  of  the  sea-board,  though  from  the  Turk 
there  was  little  to  fear  in  this  regard.  The  only  two 
ports  on  that  rocky  coast — Mavromati  and  Bulteck 
— have  long  been  the  admiration  of  nautical  Europe, 
and  Gibraltar  itself  might  learn  a  lesson  from  the 
concealed  galleries  which  defend  these  fire-belching 
jaws  of  death. 

On  the  other  hand,  supposing  he  allied  himself 
with  Constantinople,  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  as 
it  actually  took  place,  was  much  easier  of  demon- 
stration, and  quite  as  inevitable  as  the  Pons  Asi- 
norum.  Greece  had  not  the  sinews  to  check  the 
Turkish  advance  from  the  north-east.  What,  then, 
would  be  her  plight  if  Prince  Leonard's  armed  cruisers 
battered  Patras,  and  landed  troops  in  the  Pelopon- 
nese  ?  A  nut  in  a  hinge,  a  shuttlecock  between  two 
battledores,  were  in  a  more  enviable  position. 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  Prince  Leonard  held  entirely 
aloof.  He  was  an  autocrat,  his  will  was  subject  to 
no  controlling  House,  and  he  possessed  not  only 
absolute  authority  over  his  principality,  but  com- 
manded— which  is  even  better  worth  having — their 
complete  devotion.    What  seemed  right  in  his  eyes 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

never  seemed  otherwise  than  right  in  theirs  ;  it  was 
through  his  glasses  (the  Prince  is  a  Httle  short- 
sighted) that  his  ministers  regarded  the  political 
outlook  ;  and  when  it  was  known  that  he  had  decided 
not  to  move  in  the  matter,  and  his  decision  was 
communicated  to  his  Government,  they  were  lost 
in  admiration  at  this  unique  example  of  princely 
prudence  displayed  in  his  resolve  to  remain  neutral, 
just  as  they  would  have  seen  a  splendid  flash  of  the 
old  crusading  spirit  if  he  had  determined  to  side 
with  the  Greeks,  or  nodded  their  heads  in  silent 
approval  of  his  marvellous  insight  into  practical 
politics  if  he  had  joined  the  cause  of  the  Crescent. 
The  leader  in  the  principal  paper  of  Rhodope— 
though  not  an  official  organ — printed  in  large  type, 
commended  in  terms  of  the  most  extravagant  praise 
the  wisdom  of  their  great  Prince,  who  saw  what 
so  many  less  divinely-gifted  rulers  have  failed  to 
observe,  that  a  nation's  first  duty  is  to  itself,  and 
would  not  lightly  plunge  his  people  into  the  horrors 
of  war.  Yet,  even  as  the  first  edition  was  cried 
through  the  streets,  the  staff  of  compositors  were 
cheerfully  making  pie  of  another  leading  article, 
prematurely  set  up,  which  compared  Prince  Leonard 
to  Coeur-de-Lion,  and  singled  him  o-ut  from  the 
whole  of  apathetic  Europe  as  the  champion  who 
embraced  the  cause  of  Christianity,  as  the  only 
being  to  whom  his  religion  was  a  reality,  and  who 
would  not  suffer  the  accursed  race  to  make  havoc 
of  Greece.  . 

This  premature  leader  sufficiently  indicated  the 


10  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

reputed  bias — if  so  well-balanced  a  mind  can  properly 
be  said  to  have  a  bias — of  the  Prince.  His  private 
sympathies,  it  is  true,  were  entirely  on  the  side  of 
the  Greeks  ;  he  was  twice  related  by  marriage  to 
their  Royal  Family,  and  he  loved  the  people  who 
Were  so  largely  of  the  same  blood  as  his  own  in- 
imitable Albanians — yet  he  would  not  take  up  the 
sword  for  them.  The  Rhodop^  Courier  had  hit  the 
nail  on  the  head  in  its  second  leader  :  he  did  not 
wish  to  plunge  his  people  into  a  war  which  must  be 
expensive  and  might  cost  many  Uves,  while,  con- 
sidered as  a  practical  question,  his  acute  mind,  with 
the  aid  of  a  Blue-book,  a  few  jotted  figures,  and  a 
meditative  cigarette,  soon  revealed  to  him  the  fact 
that  the  Upper  Valley  of  the  Strypos  would  not 
nearly  repay  him  for  the  inevitable  outlay  of  a  war. 
Moreover,  the  acquisition  of  this  delightful  piece  of 
country  was  not  without  its  drawbacks.  It  would, 
he  saw,  have  to  be  garrisoned  and  fortified,  for  it  lay 
open  to  any  attack  that  might  be  made  (though 
strictly  against  the  Sultan's  orders,  as  the  Armenian 
massacres  had  been)  from  Turkey.  Just  now  he 
had  but  little  money  to  spend  in  such  large  opera- 
tions, for  a  reason  that  will  appear,  and  though  the 
Rhodope  Courier  knew  nothing  of  this  reason,  the 
main  lines  of  its  second  leader  were  correct  enough  ; 
war  would  be  expensive  both  in  lives  and  money, 
and  there  was  no  sufficient  interest  at  stake. 

The  Prince's  reasons  against  espousing  the  cause 
of  Turkey  are  easily  and  succinctly  stated.  He 
hated  the  Turks  as  warmly  as  he  hated  the  devil. 


INTRODUCTORY.  ii 

regarding  the  two  as  synonymous  ;  and  he  looked 
on  them  and  their  deeds,  their  natures  and  their 
names,  with  that  quivering  disgust  with  which  a 
tired  man  about  to  get  into  bed  sees  some  poisonous 
reptile  coldly  coiled  in  the  sheets.  He  would  as  soon 
have  aUied  himself  with  a  tribe  of  cobras.  And  so 
Rhodope  remained  neutral. 

This  short  disquisition  about  the  Graeco-Turkish 
War  may,  I  am  afraid,  appear  out  of  place  to  those 
who  follow  me  to  the  end  of  this  historical  tale  ; 
but  it  seems  not  so  to  me.  In  the  first  place,  it  will 
be  found  to  have  introduced  the  indulgent  reader 
to  the  principality  of  Rhodope,  and  the  character 
of  its  eminent  Prince,  now  in  his  middle  age  ;  in 
the  second,  it  has  rubbed  up  his  memory  about  the 
Prince's  attitude  with  regard  to  the  war,  and  given 
the  true  reason  for  a  coiurse  of  conduct  which  was 
so  widely  discussed  and  even  so  freely  blamed  ;  for 
it  is  true  that  the  Prince  was  hurt,  though  not 
shaken  in  his  resolve,  by  the  comments  of  the  Eng- 
lish Liberal  press  with  which  a  news-cutting  agency 
in  the  Strand  has  for  years  supplied  him,  and 
especially  by  a  paper  signed  by  a  large  majority 
of  Liberal  Members  of  Parliament.  In  the  third 
place,  it  has  led  up  to  the  one  little  sore  place  in  his 
life,  which  contributed  to  his  decision  not  to  join 
his  arms  with  those  of  Greece,  indicated  in  his  com- 
munication to  the  House  under  the  question  of 
expense.  For  three  months  before  the  war  broke 
out,  i.e.,  in  December,  1896,  he  had  paid  at  great 
sacrifice  an  enormous  sum  of  money  to  his  mother, 


12  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  Princess  Sophia,  and  temporarily,  at  least,  the 
resources  of  his  country  were  crippled.  The  Govern- 
ment had  strongly  approved  his  action  in  so  doing, 
and  sent  him  a  message  of  affectionate  sympathy 
and  condolence  when  the  reason  was  privately  made 
known  to  them.  For  his  mother's  debts  were  in- 
excusable ;  her  jointure  was  ample  to  enable  her  to 
live  as  befitted  her  station,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
one  life-long  weakness  of  that  enchanting  woman  : 
she  was  a  gambler,  hardened  and  inveterate. 

It  is  difftcult  to  estimate  the  value  of  a  factor  like 
this  in  its  effect  on  any  life,  and  when  it  has  played 
so  important  a  part  in  a  career  as  it  played  in  the 
case  of  Prince  Leonard  of  Rhodope,  almost  im- 
possible. Certain  it  is  that  now  in  his  middle  age 
he  sees  little  of  his  mother,  for  by  his  orders,  when 
he  ascended  the  throne  on  her  abdication  a  score  of 
years  ago,  she  was  forbidden  ever  again  to  set  foot 
in  Rhodope,  and  the  cares  of  State  are  so  numerous 
and  exigent  to  so  conscientious  a  Prince  that  he 
leaves  his  country  at  the  outside  for  a  short  month 
in  the  year,  and  sometimes  not  at  all.  Some  ten 
days  of  this  little  holiday,  it  is  true,  he  makes  a  rule 
of  spending  with  his  mother,  the  Princess  Sophia, 
in  her  charming  villa  on  the  olive-clad  hills  above 
Monte  Carlo  ;  but  one  would  think  there  could  be 
no  great  intimacy  between  so  diverse-minded  a  pair. 
But  of  this  the  reader  will  judge  later.  For  the 
present  it  may  be  said  that  the  Princess's  time  is 
largely  spent  at  the  tables,  while  the  Prince,  on 
ascending  the  throne  of  Rhodope,  suppressed  once 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

and  for  all  the  gambling  which  at  one  time  threatened 
to  undermine  the  very  foundations  of  the  State. 
Never  has  reformer  started  on  so  Herculean  a  task, 
and,  indeed,  the  work  of  building  up  was  less  arduous 
than  the  work  of  pulling  down,  for  it  was  easier  for 
him  to  make  a  nation  of  warriors  out  of  his  Albanians 
than  it  was  to  turn  a  medley  of  gamblers  into  sober- 
minded  citizens,  and  disprove  to  them  that  lying 
creed  which  says  that  in  chance  alone  do  we  find  the 
charm  and  the  lord  of  life.  Some  say  he  went  too 
far  in  this  hunting  out  of  the  worship  of  the  false 
and  fickle  goddess  of  luck,  and  in  the  destruction  of 
her  groves  or  gambling-houses.  Even  the  compara- 
tively unexciting  game  of  knuckle-bones,  the  lineal 
descendant,  or  you  might  say  the  living  incarnation, 
of  the  old  Greek  astragali  (and  thus  of  archaeological 
interest),  he  sternly  suppressed.  For  this,  however, 
there  was  another  sufficient  though  somewhat  quaint 
reason,  since  the  son  of  one  of  the  small  farmers 
near  Mavromati,  an  idiot  in  all  other  respects,  was 
so  consummate  a  genius  at  the  game  that  he  had 
won  the  greater  part  of  the  copper  currency  of 
Rhodope  at  it,  and  there  was  literally  a  penny 
famine.  Here  his  idiocy  came  in,  for  his  mental 
deficiency,  backed  by  his  native  Albanian  obstinacy 
or  firmness,  caused  him  to  refuse  to  part  with  any 
of  his  copper,  even  though  offered  10  per  cent,  extra 
on  the  franc.  The  Prince  dealt  with  the  question 
with  his  accustomed  acumen.  He  allowed  the  poor 
boy  to  keep  his  copper,  but  made  the  game  of  knuckle- 
bones illegal.     This  acted  in  the  way  he  had  fore- 


14 


PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 


seen  it  would.  The  hoard  of  copper,  a  bulky 
sackful,  could  no  longer  grow ;  the  charm  of 
amassing  Was  gone,  and  before  long  the  idiot 
was  obliging  enough  to  take  gold  and  silver  in  ex- 
change. 

But  such  radical  measures,  if  they  erred  at  all, 
erred  on  the  right  side.  The  abuse  was  radical ; 
the  cure  must  be  radical  too.  Step  by  step  the 
gambling-houses  Were  put  down,  one  by  one  the 
gamblers  were  induced  to  turn  to  a  pursuit  in  which 
they  could  enrich  themselves  without  impoverishing 
others  ;  the  love  of  gain  which  is  so  deeply  enrooted 
in  the  peasant  races  of  East  Europe  found  a  less 
sensational  fruition,  and  Rhodope  was  knit  together 
into  the  principality  it  now  is — a  cannon,  and  yet  a 
garden  of  the  Lord. 

When  I  think  of  its  smiling  valleys  and  multitude 
of  renovating  rivers,  it  often  seems  to  me  that  Prince 
Leonard  was  certainly  right  in  refusing  to  go  to  war 
even  against  the  unspeakable  Turk.  Nature  has 
printed  in  her  boldest  capitals  her  dictate  to  that 
happy  kingdom  not  to  concern  itself  with  the 
quarrels  of  its  neighbours,  else  why  did  she  build 
those  great  ramparts  of  rocks  on  every  side  but  one, 
where  she  has  placed  a  rocky  and  hungry  shore,  a 
stern  '  Trespassers  will  be  prosecuted  '  against  any 
who  should  dare  attempt  to  violate  this  mountain 
sanctuary  ?  It  cannot  have  been  by  a  blind  and 
purposeless  stir  of  forces  that  she  ranged  north  and 
south  of  Rhodope  those  spear-heads  of  stone  on 
which  even  the  aspiring  pine  can  fix  no  anchorage, 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

and  from  which  in  winter  the  snow  slips  like  a  fallen 
coverlet   down   to   the   less    violent   slopes    below. 
Surely  some  lesson  was  meant  to  be  drawn  from  her 
disposition.     And,  indeed,  Prince  Leonard  had  set 
the  seal  on  her  policy  of  isolation,  and  it  were  an 
infirmity  of  purpose  to  go  back  on  it ;    forts  and 
batteries    endorsed    those    impregnable    rocks    and 
guarded  the  passes,  and  it  would  be  a  regiment  of 
steel  who  could  win  through.     Nature's  lesson,  too, 
is  no  less  clearly  inscribed  on  the  fertile  plains  which 
the  mountains  guard,  for  the  country  is  amply  self- 
supporting.     Broad    pastures    hue    the    brimming 
rivers,  and  the  alluvial  soil  yields  its  sixty-fold  and 
hundred-fold  in   tobacco   fields,   and   higher  up  in 
terraced   vineyards   of   volcanic   earth.     The   very 
cigarette  you  are  smoking  was  born,  I  will  be  bold 
to  say,  in  the  fields  of  Prince  Leonard,  and  only 
bears  the  stamp  of  Cairo  to  show  where  it  was  cut 
and  enveloped  and  probably  adulterated.     Again,  if 
you  have  never  drunk  the  Chateau  Vryssi  of  1893, 
yellow  seal,  there  is  as  yet  no  excuse  for  you  to  label 
this  a  sour  world.     A  man  might  search  for  a  month 
in  Rhodop^,  yet  never  find  a  beggar,  nor  even  one 
to  whom  old  age  brought  indigence.     Conscription 
obUges  every  male  to  serve  in  the  army  for  five 
years,  and  after  that  he  can  retire  on  a  pension  large 
enough  to  keep  want  from  the  door  and  till  his 
fields,  and  he  must  live  extravagantly  or  very  idly 
who  does  not  save  his  pension.     Nor  are  the  dwellers 
on  the  coast  less  fortunate  ;    mullet  and  sole  are 
legion  in  that  sea,  and  in  ten  fathoms  of  water  grow 


i6  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  sponges  with  which  the  faces  of  half  Europe  are 
daily  made  comparatively  clean. 

The  towns  are  few  in  number  ;  Mavromati  and 
Btilteck  are  the  only  ports,  and,  in  consequence, 
the  only  places  of  consideration  on  the  coast, 
Amandos,  the  capital,  lying  twelve  miles  inland, 
the  only  other  city  numbering  ten  thousand  souls. 
For  the  rest  the  valleys  are  peopled  with  villages, 
each  more  clean  and  more  like  a  box  of  toys  than 
the  last ;  and  I  have  often,  when  travelling  there, 
sitting  in  the  little  place  of  some  such  hamlet,  with  its 
church,  its  meeting-place,  its  barracks  and  its  white- 
washed houses,  momentarily  expected  that  some 
paste-board  door  would  open,  and  out  would  pour 
an  operatic  chorus  of  genuine  shepherds  and  shep- 
herdesses. 

It  was  not  always  so.  Twenty  years  ago  each  vil- 
lage would  boast  a  score  of  gaming-houses,  its  hundred 
rich  folk,  and  its  five  hundred  poor  ones.  Even  then 
few  were  beggars,  owing  to  the  immeasurable  fer- 
tility of  the  land  ;  but  many  were  labourers  on 
another's  ground  who  should  have  been  lords  of  their 
own.  And  it  is  the  events  by  which  Prince  Leonard 
came  to  the  throne,  and  was  enabled  to  rescue  his 
kingdom  from  its  imminent  dissolution  in  the  life- 
time of  his  mother,  the  reigning  Princess  Sophia  of 
Rhodope,  that  this  story  tells. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    GIRL    IS   MOTHER   TO   THE   WOMAN, 

Princess  Sophia's  father,  the  reigning  Prince 
Leonard's  grandfather,  was  a  man  extraordinarily 
truculent  in  disposition,  with  a  hand  of  iron  under  no 
velvet  glove,  and  a  temper  frankly  diabolical.  His 
wife,  the  Grand  Duchess  Fedora,  had  died  in  giving 
birth  to  his  only  child,  the  Princess  Sophia  ;  and  so 
long  as  the  girl  grew  up  strong  and  healthy,  he  had 
no  thoughts  of  attempting  to  take  to  himself  another 
partner.  In  this  he  acted  contrarily  to  the  bias  of 
mankind,  who  would  see  in  the  education  of  a 
daughter  the  need  of  a  mother's  hand.  Not  so 
thought  Prince  Demetrius.  Had  Sophia  died,  there 
would  then  be  an  undeniable  necessity  for  marrying 
again,  and  so  continuing  his  line,  and  disappointing 
the  hopes  of  the  cousin  who  stood  next  the  throne, 
a  man  abhorrent  to  him  ;  but  as  long  as  she  lived, 
such  a  course  appeared  to  him  to  be  altogether  out- 
side the  region  of  the  vaguest  consideration.  Indeed, 
his  first  venture — though  the  word  is  scarcely  apt 
for  so  chill  a  piece  of  business — had  not  been  alto- 
gether fortunate.  The  Princess  Fedora  had  been 
a  mild  and  ailing  woman,  with  weak  and  swimming 


i8  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

blue  eyes,  of  an  uncertain  manner,  and  of  notable 
mediocrity,  and  the  secret  satisfaction  which  her 
husband  at  first  used  to  feel  in  making  her  jump 
soon  lost  its  edge  when  he  saw  how  easily,  how 
unintentionally  even,  the  thing  could  be  done.  A 
voice  raised  ever  so  httle,  one  raucous  and  guttural 
exclamation,  though  half  stifled,  was  enough  to 
make  that  poor  lady  skip  or  swoon.  In  fine,  he 
got  tired  of  her  swoonings,  and  was  in  danger,  when 
she  died,  of  losing  the  keenness  of  his  overbearing 
and  furious  temper  from  mere  contact  with  one 
so  grossly  meek  and  of  so  contemptible  a  spirit, 
even  as  a  sword  that  has  often  to  cut  cotton-wool 
is  soon  blunted. 

But  before  long  Sophia  made  him  feel  his  own 
man  again.  She  grew  up  with  the  foot  of  the  roe- 
deer  and  the  eye  of  the  hawk,  and  her  imperative 
craving  for  excitement  in  some  form  or  other  kept 
her  father  on  incessant  tenterhooks  as  to  what 
she  might  choose  to  do  next.  By  no  means  the 
earliest  of  her  escapades  was  at  the  age  of  ten,  when 
he  found  her  sitting  with  the  grooms  in  the  stable- 
yard,  cross-legged  on  the  horse-block,  and  smoking 
a  cigarette.  Her  current  governess,  an  estimable 
and  incompetent  Frenchwoman,  who  could  play 
more  scales  in  a  minute  and  speak  more  words  in 
five  different  languages  with  absolute  correctness 
of  accent  than  any  governess  yet  known  to  exist 
on  this  imperfect  earth,  was  bedewing  the  comer 
of  the  yard  with  impotent  tears  while  Her  Royal 
Highness  smoked,  and  indulged  between  the  whiffs  in 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAN.  19 

shocking  slang  expressions  to  the  English  groom. 
At  this  prodigious  moment  her  father  came  in  from 
his  ride,  saw  the  governess  cowering  and  wringing 
her  hands  in  the  corner,  and  the  Hope  of  Rhodop6 
flicking  the  ash  off  her  cigarette  with  the  apparent 
mastery  of  habit.  His  face  expressed  no  surprise, 
though  he  cast  one  furious  glance  at  Mademoiselle 
Fifine,  and  dismounting  from  his  horse,  he  Walked 
to  where  his  daughter  was  sitting.  She  had  not 
seen  him  till  he  had  well  turned  the  comer  into 
the  yard,  and  knew  that  he  must  have  observed 
her  employment ;  and  convinced  of  this,  she  had 
not  resorted  to  what  would  have  been  the  ordinary 
young  lady's  pitiful  subterfuge  on  such  an  extreme 
occasion,  and  either  dropped  her  cigarette,  or  handed 
it  behind  her  back  to  the  groom.  She  was  far  to 
defiant  and  proud  for  such  paltriness  of  conduct, 
and  she  smoked  quietly  on,  a  slight  patter  of  fear 
in  her  heart,  but  outwardly  calm. 

Her  father  approached  in  silence,  and  as  he  drew 
near  Sophia  respectfully  got  up.  Still  in  silence  he 
sat  down  on  the  horse-block,  and  Sophia  stood 
beside  him.  If  he  had  only  boxed  her  ears  and 
called  her  a  '  dirty,  vulgar  little  cat,'  she  would 
have  drawn  a  sigh  of  relief,  but  this  silence  was 
intolerably  ominous.     She  was  the  first  to  break  it. 

'  I  am  smoking  a  cigarette,  papa,'  she  said  frankly, 
'  and  I  find  it  excellent.' 

He  did  not  look  at  her,  but  only  took  out  his  own 
cigarette-case  and  laid  it  by  his  side. 

'  So  I  see,'  he  said  ;  '  and  when  you  have  finished 


20  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

that,  you  shall  have  another.     These,  too,  are  ex- 
cellent cigarettes  ;    I  have  plenty  of  them.' 

'  Thanks  ;  you  are  very  kind,  but  I  think  one  will 
be  enough,'  remarked  Sophia. 

'  It  may  be,  but  you  will  have  another  if  it  is 
not.'  Then  turning  to  the  stablemen :  '  Stop 
where  you  are,  all  of  you,'  he  said.  '  I  wish  you 
to  see  the  Princess  Sophia  smoking  till  she  has 
had  enough.' 

Sophia  understood,  and  her  small  spirit  was  up 
in  indignant  revolt.  Already  she  had  had  nearly 
enough,  and  the  cigarette  was  yet  only  half  con- 
sumed. Each  puff  became  a  more  palpable  pang. 
Meantime  Mademoiselle  Fifine  had  approached. 

'  Oh,  sir,'  she  said  tremulously,  '  Princess  Sophia 
has  been  very  naughty,  and  I  could  not  stop  her. 
But  make  her  stop  ;  perhaps  she  will  obey  you.  If 
she  smokes  any  more,  she  will  die  of  it,  for  already 
she  is  growing  very  pale.' 

The  Prince  turned  to  the  distressed  governess 
with  a  malign  light  in  his  eye. 

'  As  you  say,  you  could  not  stop  her,'  he  said. 
'  You  had  better  get  home  and  pack  your  boxes.  I 
do  not  choose  to  retain  the  services  of  one  who 
cannot  govern  my  daughter.  You  a  governess !  ' 
he  cried,  his  voice  rising  suddenly  to  a  tone  that  the 
late  Princess  Fedora  well  knew.  '  Great  and  mer- 
ciful God  !  ' 

Sophia  turned  to  her  father. 

'  Papa,'  she  said,  '  I  must  go  •  I  do  not  feel  very 
weU.' 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAN.  21 

'  You  shall  stop  exactly  where  you  are,'  he  re- 
plied. '  If  you  choose  to  disgrace  yourself,  you 
shall  do  so  in  the  way  that  I,  and  not  you,  prefer.' 

'  If  I  stop  here  as  you  order  me,'  she  said.  '  will 
you  promise  not  to  send  mademoiselle  away  ? 
For  indeed  she  did  her  best  to  sto]i  me,  but  I  have 
a  stronger  will  than  she.' 

'  I  shall  send  her  away  anyhow,'  he  replied,  'and 
as  surely  you  shall  stop  here.' 

The  end  was  approaching  ;  a  paleness  gathered 
on  her  cheek,  and  the  meanness  of  the  impending 
calamity  appalled  her. 

'  Before  all  the  stablemen  ?  '  she  pleaded,  '  Bob 
will  laugh  at  me  so.' 

'  Most  probably,'  said  her  father  dryly  ;  '  and  the 
others  too.     I  shall  not  blame  them.' 

He  sat  tapping  his  boot  with  his  riding-whip, 
not  dreaming  that  he  would  be  disobeyed,  and 
Sophia  suddenly  saw  her  chance.  Throwing  away 
the  end  of  her  cigarette,  she  bolted  round  the 
comer  of  the  stable  like  a  ferreted  rabbit,  and 
plunged  into  the  thick  bushes  which  lined  the  road. 
Her  father  started  up  with  an  astonished  oath, 
but  he  was  too  late,  and  he  turned  a  gorgon  face 
to  the  group  of  stablemen  whom  he  had  told  to 
wait. 

'  You  set  of  idiotic  deformities  !  '  he  cried  in  a 
voice  that  would  have  made  Fedora  tremble  for 
a  fortnight.  '  How  dare  you  stand  there  gaping  ! 
Get  to  your  work,  all  of  you  !  Never  have  I  seen 
such  a  bandy-legged  crew  !  ' 


22  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Sophia  meanwhile  crouched,  quivering  with  a 
sickly  feeling  of  nausea,  among  the  bushes.  She 
was  half  afraid,  half  exultant  at  what  she  had 
done.  What  the  consequence  might  be  she  scarcely 
dared  to  think  ;  lifelong  imprisonment  in  a  dungeon 
seemed  terribly  possible.  But  she  had  revolted  ; 
she  had  asserted  her  independence,  and  gloried  in 
the  deed,  like  an  early  Christian  martyr. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  she  proposed  to  her  Eng- 
lish tutor  that  he  should  elope  with  her,  and  that 
they  should  together  seek  an  appointment  in  a 
circus.  Failing  his  acceptance,  she  got  him  to 
teach  her  ecarte.  She  was  quickly  fascinated  with 
the  game  and  its  subtly  compounded  mixture  of 
luck  and  skill.  She  insisted  that  he  should  play  her 
for  counters,  and  her  exultation  at  winning  a  hundred 
of  these  off  him  in  the  course  of  an  hour  expressed 
itself,  as  it  subsequently  appeared,  prophetically. 

*  When  I  grow  up,  Mr.  Buckhurst,'  she  said,  '  I 
shall  be  a  gambler.' 

And  Mr.  Buckhurst,  counting  out  ten  red  and 
five  white,  thought  it  extremely  probable  that 
she  would. 

But  the  games  of  icarU  came  to  the  ears  of 
the  Prince,  and  after  a  thunderous  dismissal  of 
Mr.  Buckhurst,  he  sent  for  his  daughter. 

'  I  hear  you  are  in  the  habit  of  playing  ecarte,'  he 
said.  '  To-night  you  shall  play  with  me.  But  I 
do  not  play  for  counters,  like  Mr.  Buckhurst ;  I 
play  for  francs,' 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAI^.  23 

'  That  will  be  even  more  delightful  !  '  exclaimed 
Sophia  excitedly.  *  Mr,  Buckhurst  would  not  play 
me  for  francs.  He  said  that  gambling  was  not  a 
proper  employment  for  children.  I  am  so  glad 
you  disagree  with  him.  How  delightful  it  will  be 
to  play  for  real  money  !  ' 

'  You  shall  see.  Perhaps  losing  is  not  so  pleasant 
as  winning.' 

'  But  it  will  surely  be  exciting,'  said  Sophia. 

The  Prince  dined  at  six,  and  after  dinner  he  sent 
for  his  daughter. 

'  I  have  twenty  francs,  and  some  pennies,'  she 
said,  turning  out  her  purse.  '  That  will  last  a  long 
time.  I  have  been  saving  up,  which  is  slow  work ; 
but  perhaps  in  this  way  I  shall  soon  get  twenty 
more.' 

'  Perhaps,'  said  her  father.  '  What  were  you 
saving  up  for  ?  ' 

Sophia  flushed  a  little. 

'  A  Christmas  present  for  Bob,'  she  said. 

Prince  Demetrius  found  no  reply  handy,  and  he 
cut  for  deal. 

Now,  the  Prince  was  one  of  the  first  ^carte  players 
in  Europe,  and  he  had  resolved  to  teach  his  daughter 
a  lesson  on  the  same  lines  as  the  lesson  he  had  pro- 
posed to  teach  her  in  the  stable-yard.  He  meant  to 
go  on  playing  till  Sophia  was  shorn  of  all  her  twenty 
francs,  and  after  that  of  all  her  pennies  as  well. 

Sophia  marked  the  king  in  the  first  hand,  and 
turned  it  up  in  the  second,  securing  the  odd  trick 
on  each  occasion.     On  the  third  deal  her  father 


24  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

held  five  small  trumps,  but  only  made  the  odd, 
Sophia  holding  knave  and  ten.  On  the  fourth 
deal  Sophia  won  the  odd  trick,  and  no  king  was 
marked,  and  her  father  pushed  across  to  her  four 
francs.  The  second  game  was  but  a  repetition  of 
the  first,  only  Prince  Demetrius  in  this  case  failed 
even  to  secure  the  odd.  He  growled  out  an  oath 
as  he  gave  Sophia  five  francs,  and  that  observant 
young  person  recorded  a  silent  vow  that  she  person- 
ally would  take  her  losings  with  the  same  calm 
demeanour  as  she  certainly  intended  to  cultivate 
when  she  was  so  fortunate  as  to  win.  But  it  was 
terribly  exciting  work  to  play  for  whole  silver 
francs,  and  every  fibre  and  nerve  in  that  whole- 
some little  body  was  stretched  to  play  her  best. 
The  third  game  she  also  won,  and  remarked  con- 
solingly to  the  Prince  : 

'  You  have  had  the  worst  of  the  cards,  sir,'  a 
phrase  she  had  picked  up  from  the  retired  Buck- 
hurst. 

An  hour  later  this  strange  pair  were  still  at  the 
game.  The  lesson  Prince  Demetrius  had  deter- 
mined to  give  his  daughter  was  still  unlearned,  for 
by  her  on  the  table  glittered  three  gold  napoleons, 
and  some  seventeen  francs  in  silver.  She  had 
enjoyed  a  most  surprising  run  of  luck,  and  what 
was  still  more  surprising  to  her  father,  she  had 
played  throughout  a  safe  and  sober  game,  the  very 
essence  and  spirit  of  scientific  success.  Several 
times  she  had  elected  to  play  on  a  hand  which,  as 
he  saw  when  she  played  it,  justified  itself  clearly 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAN.  25 

indeed  to  the  adept,  but  held  dazzling  improb- 
abilities to  the  beginner,  with  a  change  of  two 
cards,  or  perhaps  one.  At  other  times  her  bolder 
front  had  reason  to  back  it.  Once,  for  instance, 
the  Prince  turned  up  the  king,  and  proposed  for 
cards.  She,  with  a  moderate  hand,  refused,  since 
the  odd  trick  would  give  him  the  game,  and  her 
chance  of  saving  it  lay  in  that.  As  luck  would 
have  it,  he  had  on  this  occasion  held  four  small 
clubs  and  one  diamond,  the  same  being  trumps. 
She  had  held  two  diamonds,  a  fair  hand  of  hearts, 
and  won  all  the  tricks.  The  consequence  of  all 
this  was  that  at  the  end  of  an  hour  the  thought 
of  the  lesson  he  should  give  her  had  yielded  place 
in  the  Prince's  mind  to  an  increased  feeling  of  respect 
for  his  daughter,  so  proficient  was  her  play,  though 
only  a  beginner,  and  to  the  adept's  joy  in  the  game 
considered  as  a  game  and  unconcerned  with 
moralities. 

Nine  o'clock  came,  and  an  hour  after  the  Prin- 
cess's bedtime.  But  when  a  raw-boned  governess 
appeared  at  the  door,  and  stood  patiently  waiting, 
the  Prince  presently  answered  her  with  so  tigerish 
a  snarl,  and  so  strong  an  expression  of  his  feelings 
toward  her— Sophia  had  just  marked  the  king — 
that  that  lady  retired  to  her  bedroom  in  precipi- 
tate confusion,  and  remembered  him  in  her  prayers. 
The  pile  by  the  Princess  had  grown  to  a  matter  of 
eighty  francs  ;  the  Prince  had  made  more  than 
one  bad  mistake,  and  instead  of  teaching  his  daughLcr 
a  lesson,  he  had  caused  an  unfounded  suspicion  to 


26  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

arise  in  her  mind  that  he  was  only  a  player  of  the 
second  order. 

Alas  for  the  moral  cause  !  That  evening,  which 
he  had  designed  to  be  so  salutary  a  piece  of  educa- 
tion, was  in  reality  the  direct  ancestor  of  the  profuse 
gaming-tables  in  the  State  of  Rhodope,  and  the 
threatener  of  its  entire  ruin  as  a  nation.  Not  only 
did  Sophia  become  convinced  that  games  at  cards 
were  more  entrancing  than  any  other  adventure, 
even  than  trying  to  elope  with  a  reluctant  English 
tutor,  but  several  times  during  the  game  her  father 
had  exclaimed  :  '  You  have  the  luck  of  the  devil, 
Sophia  !  '  and  such  an  opinion  from  so  expert  a 
judge  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  deep  impression 
on  her,  and  fill  her  with  wild  hopes.  Indeed,  the 
truth  of  it,  to  give  the  devil  his  due,  was  blatantly 
obvious.  Doubtful  cards  prospered  in  her  hand, 
good  cards  exacted  the  full  tale  of  their  merit,  and 
what  seemed  impossible  winners  sometimes  leaped 
in  at  the  end,  established  and  trick-winning.  Even 
Prince  Demetrius,  who  knew  more  than  most 
men  of  the  favours  of  the  fickle  jade,  was  impressed 
by  the  decisions  of  Fortune.  It  seemed  idle  to 
struggle,  and  when  on  the  stroke  of  midnight  he 
rose  from  the  table,  leaving  Sophia  with  a  balance 
of  a  hundred  and  seventeen  francs,  he  almost 
regretted  that  they  had  not  played  for  larger 
stakes,  for  the  winner  ever  commanded  his  re- 
spect. His  daughter  gathered  up  her  money  with 
carefully  assumed  carelessness,  but  inward  exulta- 
tion. 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAN.  27 

'  You  had  the  worst  of  the  cards  throughout, 
papa,'  she  observed  again. 

'  I  had,'  he  said,  then  paused,  and  the  gambler 
within  him  leaped  to  the  surface.  '  Oh,  Sophia,' 
he  said,  '  with  such  a  run  of  luck,  and,  to  do  you 
justice,  your  own  intuition,  translated  into  terms 
of  roulette,  you  would  in  a  year  make  a  fortune  at 
Monte  Carlo  sufficient  to  buy  the  Ionian  Isles. ' 

Her  face  lit  up  as  the  face  of  some  village  genius 
might  light  up  one  receipt  of  a  favourable  opinion 
from  a  publisher  about  his  manuscript  poems. 

'  Oh,  papa,'  she  cried,  '  how  splendid  !  Will  you 
take  me  there  ?  ' 

And  thus  the  moral  lesson  fled  shrieking  from  the 
room. 

It  was  not  only  at  the  cards  that  a  sort  of  spell 
seemed  to  shower  blessings  on  the  girl ;  in  that 
crisp  and  invigorating  air  she  grew  up  to  tall  and 
stately  development,  and  the  breezes  of  the  moun- 
tains and  the  perfume  of  flowers  lent  her  their 
beauty.  Other  cosmetics  she  had  none,  and  when 
her  maid  pressed  on  her  curlers  for  the  hair,  and 
washes  for  the  face,  and  dentrifices  for  her  milk- 
white  teeth,  she  threw  the  obnoxious  aids  behind 
the  grate.  The  superlative  mildness  of  her  mother 
seemed  to  have  cancelled  with  the  ferocious  temper 
of  her  father,  and  to  have  produced  in  their  daughter 
a  winning  yet  imperial  graciousness  that  touched  the 
heart  of  the  people.  It  was  her  joy  to  scamper  over 
the  country  on  her  Hungarian  horse,  or  to  divide 
the  waters  of  the  Adriatic  with  a  plunge  as  of  some 


28  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

quick-diving  bird  from  the  rocks,  or  in  the  harvest- 
time  she  would  wield  a  scythe  in  the  fields,  and 
laugh  to  see  how  the  other  girls,  daughters  of  the 
farmers,  and  inured  to  toil,  would  vainly  strive  to 
keep  pace  with  her  fallen  swathes.  Yet  it  was 
with  a  wonderful  dignity  that  she  received  her 
father's  guests,  and  she  was  royal  to  her  finger-tips. 
But  most  of  all  she  loved  the  hour  when  the  lamps 
were  lit,  and  the  curtains  drawn,  and  she  and  her 
father,  or  she  and  some  visitor  to  the  Court,  sat 
down  and  played  ccartc  or  picquet.  Sometimes  a 
baccarat-table  would  be  made  up,  and  that  was 
even  more  enchanting,  for  she  loved  the  decision 
of  pure  chance,  and  bowed  to  it  with  the  unwaver- 
ing devotion  of  the  thoroughbred  and  single-hearted 
gambler.  They  were  no  longer  simple  francs  which 
were  pushed  across  the  table  ;  bright  gold  pieces 
scurried  to  and  fro  in  breathless  alternation,  and 
she  loved  to  think  of  the  miner  who  delved  sweating 
in  the  earth,  and  the  gold-dust  carried  in  boxes 
oversea,  to  supply  the  sinews  of  her  amusement. 

The  fame  of  her  beauty  and  the  charm  of  the  girl, 
without  which  beauty  is  a  mask  and  a  cipher,  had 
gone  out  widely  into  the  world,  and  already,  while 
she  was  not  yet  seventeen,  royal  blood  and  more 
than  regal  dulness  were  kneeling  at  her  feet.  It 
was  the  frankness  of  her  refusal,  her  sheer  astonish- 
ment at  the  unsuccessful,  that  kept  others  aloof. 
To  marry  seemed  to  her  an  inconceivable  thing. 
She  had  not  yet  met  her  match  either  in  the  gallop 
or  in  rubicon  bezique,  a  game  which  occupied  her 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAN.  29 

greatly  for  a  year  or  two ;  and  to  pass  a  lifetime 
with  a  man  who  could  not  keep  up  with  her  in 
a  scamper  across  country,  or  who  would  be  a 
mere  whipped  puppy  in  her  ruthless  hands  at  the 
cards,  was  outside  the  bounds  of  possibility.  Some 
of  these  unfortunate  suitors  were  strangely,  almost 
comically,  below  the  mark.  They  fell  off  their 
horses  in  the  afternoon,  and  were  perpetually 
plunged  in  the  swollen  waters  of  the  rubicon  in 
the  evening.  To  pretend  even  to  wear  the  guise 
of  sympathy  for  their  inane  misfortunes  was  a 
histrionic  feat  of  which  she  was  hopelessly  in- 
capable. 

English  travellers  who  have  visited  Rhodope  have 
always  found  themselves  greatly  at  home  there,  for 
the  character  of  the  two  nations  is  marvellously 
alike.  To  those  of  Rhodope  no  less  than  to  us 
has  been  given  a  sublime  self-sufficiency,  moved 
only  to  a  smiling  and  wondering  tolerance  at  the 
screams  of  France  or  the  telegrams  of  incompre- 
hensible Emperors.  The  insular  position  of  Eng- 
land accounts  for  this  trait  in  our  case,  and  the 
walls  of  mountains  round  Rhodope — as  inviolable 
as  the  sea — in  the  other.  Both  nations  are  pro- 
foundly tenacious  rather  than  assertive,  both  have  a 
certain  habit  of  stalking  along  to  fulfil  an  immut- 
able destiny,  an  attitude  which  is  characteristic  of 
the  races  of  the  North,  and  shrewdly  aggravating 
to  those  of  the  South.  The  inhabitants  of  Rhodope 
are  neither  to  be  driven  nor  to  be  led  :  they  go 
their  own  way  with  an  almost  sublime  conscious- 


30  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

ness  of  the  futility  of  every  other  way,  or,  when  they 
choose,  stand  as  still  as  trees  planted  by  the  water- 
side. It  is  unnecessar}^  to  remind  the  reader  how 
closely  their  royal  line  is  related  to  our  own,  and 
thus  it  has  come  about  from  community  of  blood 
no  less  than  of  nature  that  many  of  the  Court  ap- 
pointments are  held  by  English-speaking  folk.  Eng- 
lish also  is  the  language  of  diplomacy  there,  a  unique 
phenomenon. 

From  her  seventeenth  to  her  twentieth  year 
Sophia  lived  much  in  the  society  of  the  English, 
and  her  greatest  friend  at  this  time  was  Lady 
Blanche  Amesbury,  only  daughter  of  the  Marquis 
of  Abbotsworthy,  who  held  the  post  of  English  Min- 
ister at  the  Court  of  Prince  Demetrius.  The  two 
were  in  many  ways  much  alike  :  both  loved  to  be 
in  the  saddle  or  the  sea  all  day,  and  community 
of  tastes  brought  about  a  real  friendship.  It  was 
to  Blanche  that  the  Princess  confided  the  deficiencies 
of  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  a  youth  of  about 
twenty-three,  who  was  then  being  put  through  his 
pre-matrimonial  paces  at  Amandos.  He  was  hope- 
lessly in  love  with  his  cousin  Sophia,  and  the  latter 
was  prepared  to  give  him  a  fair  trial.  Indeed,  the 
wooing  of  the  Princess  Sophia  was  not  unlike  the 
fairy  stories  in  which  princesses  sit  at  the  top  of 
hills  of  glass  calmly  ready  to  wed  whoever  can  ride 
a  horse  up  to  their  side. 

'  I  do  not  require  much,'  said  this  candid  young 
lady  to  Blanche,  as  they  sat  waiting  for  Nicholas 
to  go  out  riding  with  them.     '  The  man  who  marries 


THE  GIRL  MOTHER  TO  THE  WOMAN.  31 

me  must  be  passably  good-looking.  My  cousin 
Nicholas  is  more  than  that — indeed,  I  suppose  he 
might  be  called  handsome — and  he  must  do  one 
or  two  things  well.  He  must  either  ride  very  well, 
or  talk  very  well,  or  play  cards  very  well,  or  if  he 
only  plays  roulette  and  games  of  that  kind,  he  must 
lose  very  well.     Voila  tout  !  ' 

Blanche  considered  a  moment. 

'  We  shall  see  about  his  riding  this  afternoon,' 
she  said.  '  As  far  as  his  talking  goes,  I  am  afraid 
he  will  not  do  on  that  count.  And  this  evening, 
no  doubt,  you  will  see  how  he  plays.  But  there 
are  other  things — he  is  very  rich ;  that  is  a  good 
thing.' 

'  How  can  you  think  me  so  mercenary  !  *  cried 
the  Princess.  '  Besides,  I  have  the  luck  of  the 
devil — papa  has  told  me  so  more  than  once — and 
so  I  shall  win  enough  at  cgrds  to  keep  my  head 
above  water.  Here  he  is  !  Really  he  looks  quite 
distinguished  !  ' 

The  riding  question  was  soon  settled,  for  the 
Grand  Duke  put  his  toes  out  and  his  heels  in,  and 
sawed  the  autumn  air  with  a  sharp  elbow.  And 
Sophia  shook  her  head  to  Blanche  as  they  came  in. 

'  There  is  but  one  more  chance,'  she  said. 

She  and  her  cousin  played  rubicon  bezique  that 
night,  and  at  first  Sophia  thought  that  after  all  he 
might  do.  He  played  quickly,  and  marked  treble 
bezique  in  the  first  game,  which  raised  him  in  her 
estimation.  But,  oh  Heaven !  the  humiliation 
which  followed  !     He  showed  a  miser's  greed  for 


32  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

his  tale  of  tens  and  aces  ;  he  haggled  over  mere 
francs,  refusing  to  toss  double  or  quits  in  napoleons  ; 
he  preferred  to  make  certain  of  a  small  score  rather 
than  risk  a  large  one  ;  he  let  out  incidentally  that 
he  could  not  swim  ('  Without  any  sense  of  shame, 
my  dear  Blanche,  without  any  sense  of  shame,' 
said  the  Princess  next  day)  ;  and  linally,  after  four 
games,  he  said  he  was  sure  she  was  tired  of  bezique 
(meaning  that  he  was),  kissed  her  hand,  and  offered 
her  his  own,  coupled  with  his  heart. 

His  visit  was  curtailed,  and  he  left  two  days  after- 
wards. Prince  Demetrius  gloomily  threatened  his 
daughter  with  the  prospect  of  being  an  old  maid 
all  her  life,  but  she  only  put  her  pretty  nose  in  the 
air,  and  said  '  Hoots  !  ' — a  word  she  had  picked  up 
from  Blanche,  and  thought  very  expressive  of  cer- 
tain shades  of  feeling. 


CHAPTER    11. 

A   FOOL   COMES   TO   RHODOp6. 

Till  the  time  she  was  twenty-one  Princess  Sophia 
lived  quietly  enough  at  Amandos,  paying  visits 
occasionally  abroad,  but  passing  a  full  ten  months 
of  the  year  in  Rhodope.  Though  she  was  often 
bored,  she  was  usually  employed,  for  Prince  De- 
metrius' health  had  now  for  a  year  or  two  been 
failing,  and  many  of  the  lesser  cares  of  state  de- 
volved on  his  daughter.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
during  her  father's  lifetime  she  discharged  these 
duties  admirably,  and  has  not  always  had  the  credit 
for  this,  for  the  complete  neglect  of  all  her  duties 
when  she  herself  was  on  the  throne  has  effaced  the 
memory  of  these  earlier  years.  She  presided  over 
the  National  Assembly — except  on  the  compara- 
tively few  occasions  when  her  father  was  present — 
with  a  wonderful  great  dignitj^  and  grace,  and  while 
listening  to  their  debates  and  considering  their  resolu- 
tions with  all  the  care  that  they  deserved,  she  never 
let  the  autocratic  power  wielded  by  the  Crown  seem 
to  pass  from  her  control  or  grow  effete.  More 
than  once  she  used  her  power  of  veto,  more  than 
once  she  insisted  on  a  measure  thrown  out  only  by 

2 


34  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

a  narrow  number  of  votes  being  put  into  effect. 
But  never — and  in  this  she  showed  the  true  and 
right  understanding  of  autocratic  government — 
did  she  reverse  the  decision  of  a  substantial  majority. 

But  what  the  poor  girl  went  through,  what  agonies 
of  boredom,  what  screaming  tortures  of  ennui,  what 
clenching  of  jaws  which  ached  for  a  yawn,  what 
twitching  of  limbs  which  longed  for  the  saddle,  that 
august  body  never  guessed.  The  language  of  Rho- 
dop6  contains  no  such  expression  as  '  local  jurisdic- 
tion '  or  '  county  council,'  and  all  questions  which 
can  be  thought  to  bear  in  the  minutest  way  upon 
the  interests  of  the  country  are  solemnly  brought 
before  the  House. 

'  My  dear  Blanche,'  she  cried  in  despair,  after  a 
five  hours'  sitting  one  afternoon,  '  unless  I  die  of 
it,  I  shall  go  stark  mad.  I  have  had  to-day  to  give 
a  casting-vote  as  to  whether  the  second  book  of 
Euclid  shall  be  included  in  the  third  standard  of 
schools.  What  do  I  know  of  third  standards  ? 
And,  indeed,  I  know  as  little  of  Euclid.  On  the  top 
of  that  it  appeared  that  Yanni  Tsimovak  wished  to 
grow  vines  on  his  twopenny  estate  instead  of  to- 
bacco. To  this,  too,  I  had  to  give  my  serious  con- 
sideration. It  would  be  a  bad  precedent,  said  one, 
and  would  seem  to  point  to  the  fact  that  the  culti- 
vation of  tobacco  was  going  out.  This  would  be 
deplorable,  for  it  yields  higher  profits  than  the 
growth  of  vines.  "  Then  why  does  Yanni  Tsimovak 
prefer  vines  ?  " — I  asked  them  that,  and  they  did 
not  know.     Nor  did  I  know,  nor  do  I  care.     And 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPfe.  35 

who  under  the  sun  is  Yanni  Tsimovak — he  sounds 
like  a  patent  medicine — and  what  is  his  tobacco 
to  me  ?     Yes,  tea,  please,  and  three  lumps  of  sugar.' 

'  Not  three,  Sophy,'  objected  the  other.  '  You 
are  getting  stout,  or  you  soon  will.' 

*  Blanche,  another  word,  and  I  eat  the  whole 
contents  of  the  sugar-basin,  lump  by  lump.  And 
Prince  Petros  comes  this  evening  '  ! 

'  He  won  a  fortune  at  Homburg  last  year,'  re- 
marked Blanche. 

'  Fortunate  man  !  Why  can't  I  go  to  Homburg, 
and  win  a  fortune,  instead  of  including  the  second 
book  of  Euclid  in  the  third  standard  ?  Why  should 
he  play  roulette,  and  I  wrestle  with  the  Assembly 
over  the  affairs  of  a  patent  medicine  ?  I  hate  medi- 
cine.' 

'  "  Uneasy  lies  the  head "  '  began  Blanche. 

'  But  I  don't  wear  a  crown,'  cried  Sophia,  upset- 
ting her  tea  ;  '  and  if  you  bore  me  with  any  more 
of  your  odious  quotations  from  your  absurd  Shake- 
speare, I  shall  scream.' 

She  rang  the  bell  for  another  cup,  as  her  own 
was  broken.  *  And  to-morrow,  what  a  programme  !  ' 
she  sighed.  *  There  is  a  review  in  the  morning. 
Well,  I  don't  mind  that ;  but  afterwards  I  have  to 
open  the  new  town-hall,  and  go  to  the  mayor's 
lunch  afterwards,  which  will  last  hours,  when  I 
might  be  on  the  hills.  An  inconceivable  man, 
Blanche — like  a  wet  toad ;  and  his  wife  beggars 
the  imagination.  She  will  wear  a  velvet  dress  like 
a  sofa-cover,  and  a  string  of  coral,  rather  short  of 


36  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

beads,  on  black  elastic  round  her  neck.  Her  face 
will  grow  red  and  shiny  during  lunch,  she  will  eat 
till  a  proper  person  would  burst,  and  she  will  con- 
fide in  me  afterwards  that  she,  too,  is  a  descendant 
of  princes.  She  may  be  a  descendant  of  the  four 
major  prophets  for  all  I  care  !  And  then — oh,  I 
know  so  well — I  shall  feel  it  laid  upon  me  to  tell 
her  that  Methuselah  is  my  lineal  grandfather,  and 
she  will  say,  "  Indeed,  your  Royal  Highness  !  "  and 
not  see  that  I  am  making  fun  of  her.  She  won't 
see  it — she  will  never  see  anything  as  long  as  she 
lives ;  and  I  shall  want  to  shake  her  till  her  coral 
necklace  bursts  and  runs  all  over  the  floor.  Give 
me  a  bun  with  sugar  on  the  top.' 

Now,  Prince  Petros,  who  was  the  second  son  of 
the  reigning  Duke  of  Herzegovina,  and  was  expected 
at  Amandos  that  night,  was  a  young  man  altogether 
unlike  the  most  of  those  who  had  tried  and  failed 
to  touch  the  Princess's  heart  or  win  her  hand.  He 
came  of  a  strangely  mixed  race,  which  it  would  be 
kind  to  call  cosmopolitan,  and  cruel  to  call  mongrel, 
one  grandmother  being  a  Jewess,  another  a  Greek, 
while  his  mother  was  English  and  of  obscure  origin. 
But  Princess  Sophia,  as  she  had  told  Mr.  Buckhurst 
when  she  tried  to  induce  him  to  elope  with  her, 
had  enough  pedigree  for  two.  Furthermore,  he  had 
ridden  his  own  horse  to  the  winning-post  in  the 
Austrian  Derby,  and  won  a  fortune  at  Homburg. 
and  was  universally  allowed  to  be  excellent  company. 
Indeed,  the  Princess  on  the  hill  of  glass  could  hear 
the  thunderings  of  the  horse-hoofs  growing  nearer. 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPfi.  37 

The  world  also  knew  of  him  as  a  very  ambitious 
man,  and  the  world's  opinion,  as  so  often  happens, 
was  entirely  true.  He  was  quite  prepared  to  fall  in 
love  with  the  Princess  Sophia,  and  he  was  equally 
determined  to  marry  her.  The  husband  of  the 
reigning  Princess  of  Rhodope,  so  he  thought,  had 
the  right  to  be  considered  a  very  enviable  man,  and 
provided  he  was  moderately  clever,  and  as  ambitious 
as  himself,  should  bid  fair  to  hold  the  theatre  of  the 
world  intent  on  a  piece  which  it  was  in  his  power  to 
produce.  The  piece  should  be  heroic  and  magnifi- 
cent, and  should  have  all  the  characters  but  one 
left  out,  but  that  one  was  to  play  the  title-role.  The 
name  he  had  not  certainly  decided  on,  but  '  The 
Emperor  of  the  East '  gave  an  idea  of  its  scope. 
From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  Prince  Petros,  with 
all  his  horsemanship,  and  ambition  and  luck  at  the 
cards,  had  also  all  the  makings  of  an  exceedingly 
foolish  man. 

Dinner  that  night  passed  off  pleasantly  enough. 
Prince  Petros  sat  next  Sophia  ;  the  English  Minister, 
Lady  Blanche,  and  Madame  Amygdale,  a  celebrated 
French  singer  of  the  variety  stage,  who  steered 
between  propriety  and  riskiness  with  a  skill  worthy 
the  helmsman  of  a  racing  yacht,  were  the  only  other 
guests  besides  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  waiting. 
The  Amygdale  devoted  herself  to  the  entertain- 
ment of  Prince  Demetrius  with  such  success  that 
he  laughed  seven  t  mes  during  dinner,  and  did  not 
swear  once.  Prince  Petros  was  an  essentially  con- 
ceited man  ;  but  as  his  conceit  took  the  subtle  form 


38  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

of  self-depreciation,  it  passed  unchallenged  for  the 
time.  He  told  them  that  the  man  who  had  ridden 
second  to  him  at  Vienna  was  a  far  better  horseman 
than  himself,  and  that  he  was  only  a  beginner  at 
bezique,  but  was  most  anxious  to  learn  more  of  the 
game  under  the  tutelage  of  Princess  Sophia. 

For  a  beginner,  so  it  appeared  after  dinner,  he 
was  certainly  a  very  notable  performer.  At  any 
period  of  the  game  he  could  have  told  you  without 
hesitation  or  error  not  only  how  many  kings,  aces, 
queens,  and  knaves  were  still  left  in,  but  how  many 
small  trumps,  an  important  factor  at  the  close  of  the 
game,  as  beginners  are  apt  to  discover.  He  tossed 
for  napoleons,  and  lost  every  time  ;  he  acquiesced  in 
and  welcomed  any  raising  of  the  stakes,  saying  that 
he  was  about  to  propose  it  himself.  Before  the 
first  game  was  over.  Princess  Sophia  knew  she  had 
met  her  match — at  the  cards,  at  least. 

'  You  are  far  better  than  I,'  she  said,  with  her 
habitual  frankness.  '  With  ordinary  luck,  I  could 
scarcely  give  you  a  decently  fought  game.  Cut, 
please.' 

*  I  am  a  beginner  merely,'  murmured  the  Prince, 
thereby  betraying  his  foolishness,  for  he  had  said 
that  often  enough  for  mere  modesty. 

The  second  game  showed  his  quality  still  better. 
Trumps  were  most  unkindly  against  him,  and  about 
the  middle  of  the  game  he  threw  them  to  the  winds, 
and  escaped  the  rubicon  by  a  continual  scorning 
of  kings  and  aces. 

'  I  could  not  have  got  sequence,  as  it  turned  out,' 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOP^.  39 

he  said  apologetically  at  the  end.  '  You  had  already 
shown  me  three  queens,  and  the  fourth  you  took  in 
two  tricks  later.' 

'  Tell  me  how  you  knew  that,'  asked  Sophia. 

*  It  was  the  only  card  you  could  have  had  any 
reason  for  holding  up,'  he  said.  '  Any  other  card 
you  might  safely  have  shown  me,  but  this  you  held 
till  the  end  of  the  game.' 

Princess  Sophia  beamed  at  him. 

'  I  will  play  with  you  till  it  shall  be  you  who  says 
you  have  had  enough.  Oh,  I  love  the  cards  !  '  she 
cried  in  a  sort  of  ecstasy,  gathering  up  her  hand. 

'  The  sun  shall  first  be  quenched,'  said  Petros. 

It  was  the  month  of  June,  and  the  earliest  day- 
light stealing  into  the  room  about  four  of  the  morn- 
ing saw  a  quaint  sight.  In  an  armchair  sat  Princess 
Sophia's  lady-in-waiting,  fast  asleep  with  mouth  wide 
open,  and  snoring  stertorously,  and  on  a  divan  near 
the  window  lay  Prince  Petros 's  gentleman-in-waiting, 
with  his  face  on  his  hand,  sleeping  like  a  tired  child. 
The  candles  on  the  table  by  which  the  two  played 
had  already  once  been  replenished,  and  as  the  light 
of  morning  grew  clearer  they  were  again  burned  to 
their  sockets.  A  large  silver  ash-tray  by  the  Prince's 
side  was  heaped  with  a  pyramid  of  ends  of  cigarettes, 
two  empty  siphons  stood  on  the  floor,  and  two  trays 
with  the  debris  of  supper  stood  on  a  side-table.  It 
had  been  a  hot  night,  and  the  curtains  were  un- 
drawn over  the  open  windows.  Every  now  and  then 
a  footman  in  scarlet  livery,  with  eyelids,  like  La 
Giaconda's,  a  little  weary,  looked  in  through  the 


40  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

open  door  and  stole  away  again.  Outside,  the  garden 
was  still  dreaming  under  its  blanket  of  dew-laden 
gossamer  webs  ;  a  hundred  feet  below  slept  the 
red  roofs  of  the  town ;  and  the  birds  had  not  yet 
begun  to  tune  their  voices  for  the  day. 

Just  before  the  sun  rose,  Prince  Petros  cut  to 
Sophia. 

'  Shall  I  extinguish  the  candles  ?  '  he  asked  ;  '  it 
is  already  light  enough  to  play  without.  How  deli- 
cious the  morning  air  is  !  ' 

'  If  you  will  be  so  kind,'  said  Sophia,  dealing. 
'  For  the  twenty-first  time  you  have  cut  exactly 
eighteen  cards.' 

An  hoiu-  later  it  was  broad  day  ;  the  birds  were 
awake,  and  the  footman  was  asleep.  The  Prince 
still  looked  fresh  enough,  but  his  chin  (he  had  ar- 
rived too  late  to  shave  before  dinner)  was  dark 
with  his  twenty-four  hours'  beard ;  but  Sophia 
looked  as  fresh  and  brilliant  as  a  child  glowing 
from  its  morning  bath.  A  little  excitement  burned 
in  her  beautiful  eyes,  and  lier  breath  came  slightly 
quicker  than  its  wont.  But  the  risen  sun,  still  cool 
and  invigorating,  shone  searchingly  on  the  smooth 
white  skin  of  her  half-turned  face -as  if  to  find  some 
ravage  wrought  by  this  unnatural  night,  and  con- 
fessed its  impotence.  She  was  radiant,  an  embodi- 
ment of  the  goddess  of  the  morning,  and,  looking 
up.  Prince  Petros  was  fairly  blinded  with  her.  He 
hesitated — it  was  towards  the  end  of  the  game — 
failed  to  count  the  remaining  tricks,  and  she  put 
down  in  turn  the  three  and  the  four  beziques. 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPfi.  41 

'  Admirable,'  he  said  ;  '  I  made  a  bad  mistake. 
I  have  paid  for  it.  Yes,  you  rubicon  me  as  well. 
Yet,  believe  me,  I  have  not  played  so  rotten  a  card 
for  years.' 

'  You  are  very  modest,'  said  she,  '  for  you  said 
you  were  only  a  beginner.  Yet  I  like  modesty  in 
a  man.' 

'  I  am  more  fortunate  than  I  deserve,'  said  he. 

Once  or  twice  during  the  next  game  he  passed  his 
hand  over  his  chin,  and  frowned.  At  last  he  could 
bear  it  no  more,  and  at  the  end  of  the  game,  '  If 
you  will  excuse  me,'  he  said,  '  for  ten  minutes — it 
shall  not  be  more,  I  swear  to  you — I  will  get  shaved, 
if  my  idle  scoundrel  of  a  valet  has  not  gone  to  bed, 
and  then  I  will  return  to  you.  I  am  no  sight  for  the 
morning.  But  you — you  look  like  morning  itself  ;  ' 
and  again  he  gazed  at  her. 

She  met  his  eye,  then  dropped  her  own,  and 
played  with  the  cards  a  moment.  Then  she  rose, 
and  breaking  out  into  a  laugh  : 

'  I  am  beaten,'  she  said,  '  and  I  retract  my  words. 
Oh,  Prince,  I  would  play  with  you  till  the  crack  of 
Judgment ;  but  if  I  stop  for  ten  minutes  I  shall  be 
asleep.  Let  us  make  a  bargain  ;  you  want  to  stop 
for  ten  minutes,  and  for  me  that  is  impossible.  We 
will  yield  to  each  other,  and  thus  there  is  no  yield- 
ing.    Let  us  both  agree  to  stop.' 

'  I  have  no  wish  but  yours,'  said  he.  *  And  indeed 
an  hour  or  two  of  sleep  would  be  refreshing.  I 
travelled  all  yesterday.' 

Sophia  stretched  herself  gracefully,  like  a  fawn 


42  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

that  is  stiff  with  lying  down.  Then  she  looked 
round  the  room,  and  broke  into  a  little  suppressed 
bubble  of  laughter. 

'  Look,  oh,  look  !  '  she  whispered.  '  There  is  your 
gentleman  and  there  is  my  lady.  Let  us  go  quietly, 
ever  so  quietly,  to  our  rooms,  and  what  will  be  their 
embarrassment  and  dismay  when  they  awake  I  We 
ride  at  ten  to  see  the  review.  Will  you  join  us  ?  It 
would  interest  you,  I  think.  You  will  see  some  fine 
horses  and  some  fine  horsemen.' 

'  And  you — you  will  be  there  ?  '  he  asked. 

'  Surely.     Now  come  away  on  tiptoe.' 

The  party  in  the  house  met  again  at  ten  to  ride  to 
the  review  on  the  occasion  of  the  Prince  Demetrius's 
birthday.  The  gentleman  of  Prince  Petros  and  the 
lady  of  Princess  Sophia  seemed  strangely  ill  at  ease 
with  each  other,  for  they  had  awoke  simultaneously  ; 
but  the  two  bezique  players,  riding  one  on  each  side 
of  the  Prince,  were  in  the  best  of  spirits.  Never,  so 
it  seemed  to  Sophia,  had  a  night  involved  so  little 
waste  of  time  ;  for,  being  a  sound  and  lengthy  sleeper 
by  nature,  each  morning  presented  her  with  a  dis- 
majnng  expenditure  of  eight  and  a  half  blank  and 
unfruitful  hours.  Never,  so  thought  her  father,  had 
she  shown  so  charming  a  gaiety,  and  the  cause  of 
it,  so  he  concluded,  rode  on  his  right  hand.  As  for 
Prince  Petros,  he  saw  ambition  already  nearly  ripe 
for  the  attempted  plucking  ;  and  to  do  him  justice, 
it  was  at  this  moment  Sophia  herself,  the  charm  and 
delicious  freshness  of  her,  the  wit  and  happy  gaiety 
of  her,  that  he  coveted,  and  not  her  kingdom. 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPfi.  43 

To  right  and  left  of  them  stretched  fields  of  tobacco 
in  full  flower,  and  vineyards  promising  a  marvellous 
harvest.  By  the  side  of  the  road  was  a  grassy  ride, 
and  the  three  cantered  gently  past  the  far-famed 
plots.  To  their  right,  steeply  terraced  up  to  prevent 
a  grain  of  that  soil  of  gold  slipping  away  in  the 
autumn  rains,  rose  the  enclosure  of  the  Chateau 
Vryssi — land  as  valuable  as  the  streets  of  the  City 
of  London.  On  the  left,  a  liberal  ten  acres  of 
ground,  stood  the  volcanic  patch  which  nurtured  the 
vines  of  the  Clos  Royal  grape,  brought,  so  it  was 
said,  by  the  first  Albanian  emigrants  from  the  vine- 
yard of  Omar.  Further  down  the  hill  the  vineyards 
gave  place  to  the  culture  of  tobacco  ;  and  the  Prince 
pointed  out  in  turn  to  his  admiring  guest  the  birth- 
place and  nursery  of  the  Eastern  Gem,  the  Joy  of 
the  Harem,  and  the  darker-leaved  Prince  Seracour. 
The  last  of  these  stretched  down  to  the  river-bank, 
and  from  there  a  noble  stone  bridge  rose  in  a  stately 
span  across  the  foaming  water,  and  gave  them  access 
to  the  level  parade-ground. 

Prince  Petros  had  been  prepared  to  find  a  large 
body  of  fine  and  well-drilled  men  ;  but  schooled  as 
he  was  to  the  surprises  of  the  tables,  he  could  scarce 
suppress  his  exclamations  of  delight  as  regiment  after 
regiment  wheeled,  saluted,  and  passed.  Not  a  man 
of  the  ist  Infantry  was  under  six  feet  in  height,  and 
not  one  but  would  have  done  credit  to  the  crack 
regiment  of  any  nation.  With  what  a  crisp  ripple 
the  ranks  of  firm-footed  men.  fit,  weather-tanned, 
moving  mechanically,  yet  individually,  swung  past  ! 


44  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

And  this  array,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  then  but 
a  half  of  the  tale  Rhodope  could  to-day  put  into  the 
field  ;  yet  how  great  a  multiple  of  those  who  would 
have  appeared  on  parade  ten  years  later,  had  there 
been  a  parade  at  such  a  time  !  Like  the  Queen  of 
Sheba,  Prince  Petros  had  no  spirit  left  in  him  at  the 
end  ;  he  was  enchanted  at  what  he  had  seen,  and 
with  Sophia,  intoxicated. 

Thereafter  followed  the  opening  of  the  new  town- 
hall,  and  the  luncheon  by  the  mayor.  Prince 
Demetrius  did  not  propose  to  attend  either  of  these 
functions  ;  and,  turning  to  ride  home,  he  inquired 
of  Prince  Petros  whether  he  would  come  with  him 
or  go  to  the  town-hall  and  the  tedious  lunch  with 
Sophia.  The  town-hall,  he  reminded  him,  was  like 
every  other  town-hall,  only  newer,  and  the  mayor's 
luncheon  would  be  similar,  only  perhaps  a  shade 
more  so. 

But  the  ring  of  his  cri  dti  cceur — '  Oh,  let  me  go 
with  her  !  '■ — pleased  the  old  man,  and  he  rode  home 
satisfied. 

Indeed,  of  late  Sophia's  future  had  been  something 
of  an  anxiety  to  him.  In  each  individual  case,  it  is 
true,  he  had  so  sympathized  with  the  girl  in  her 
rejection  of  men  who  were  superlatively  eligible, 
except  as  husbands,  that  he  had  not  had  the  con- 
viction to  '  preach  down  her  heart  '  ;  nor,  he  was 
aware,  would  his  preaching  have  had  the  slightest 
effect.  But  he  himself,  as  he  guessed,  was  suffering 
from  an  incurable  malady,  of  which  the  end,  he 
hoped,  would  not  be  far  distant ;  and  it  would  have 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPE.  45 

pleased  him  more  than  anything  in  the  world  which 
had  power  to  please,  to  see  Sophia  married  to  some 
suitable  husband,  who  was  neither  cad  nor  nincom- 
poop. Prince  Petros  did  not  appear  to  him  to  be 
within  measurable  distance  of  either,  and  he  was 
gratified  to  see  that  the  rhadamanthine  attitude 
v/hich  Sophia  usually  adopted  to  her  wooers  was 
here  absent. 

The  two  returned  about  five  in  the  afternoon, 
after  a  reckless  scamper  over  the  rough  country. 
The  embarrassed  lady  and  gentleman  had  been  left 
far  behind,  unless,  indeed,  they  had  been  wise,  and 
returned  home  soberly  by  the  road  ;  but  neither 
gave  them  even  a  passing  thought.  Sophia,  with 
experiment  in  her  mind,  had  mounted  Prince  Petros 
on  a  vicious  cross-grained  brute,  and  she  knew  that 
the  horse's  seeming  amenity  that  afternoon  could  not 
be  natural  to  it.  Petros  had  a  seat ;  he  had  hands. 
In  Sophia's  eyes  there  were  few  gifts  of  God  more 
ennobling  than  these.  The  last  mile  up  to  the  stable 
gates  she  had  challenged  him  to  race,  following  an 
old  grass-grown  track,  intersected  with  hedges  and 
fences ;  and  Sophia,  to  her  soul's  delight,  had  won. 
She  had  dismounted  by  the  time  he  came  up,  and 
was  sitting  on  the  horse-block,  where  she  had  made 
her  first  experiment  in  cigarettes  ten  years  ago, 
breathless  and  triumphant  at  having  beaten  the 
jockey  of  the  Austrian  winner.  He  dismounted  at 
the  stable  gate,  and  came  up  to  her.  A  great  braid 
of  her  black  hair  had  escaped,  and  hung  gloriously 
on  the  shoulder  of  her  riding  jacket ;    her  face  was 


46  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

flushed.  She  was  divinely  beautiful ;  and  in  a 
sudden  spasm  of  admiration  : 

*  Ah,  you  are  enchanting  !  '  he  cried,  and  the  dis- 
creet groom  led  their  horses  away. 

Sophia  no  longer  doubted  that  she  had  found  the 
companion  of  her  life.  The  Prince  had  thundered 
up  the  hill  of  glass,  and  all  the  lore  of  fairy-tales 
made  him  hers.  Personally  she  was  attracted  by 
him,  by  his  slim,  straight  person,  his  dark,  animated 
face,  the  languor  of  indolence  and  movement  which 
cloaked  his  athleticism,  his  apt  and  ready  conversa- 
tion, and,  above  all — for  she  was  something  of  an 
observer — by  a  certain  indulgence  of  expression, 
habitual  to  him,  which  she  did  not  wholly  under- 
stand, but  wliich  suggested  that  the  pursuits  at  which 
he  so  excelled  were  no  more  than  toys  to  him. 
Moreover,  it  is  charming  to  charm  ;  the  charmer 
usually  feels  kindly — out  of  her  generosity — to  the 
enslaved,  and  his  involuntary  cry,  '  Ah,  you  are 
enchanting  !  '  was  delicious  to  her. 

After  dinner  this  pretty  game  of  love-making  had 
to  yield  place  to  the  sterner  and  more  serious  duties 
of  life,  and  the  cards  again  occupied  their  undivided 
attention.  Prince  Petros  acknowledged  to  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  rules  of  vingt-et-un,  and  all  the 
varieties  of  that  charming  game,  which  he  said  he 
had  sometimes  played  at  home  with  his  sisters. 
The  betting  was  high,  the  guests  of  the  evening 
were  amusing,  and  disposed  to  be  well  amused ; 
the  Guards'  band  in  the  gallery  of  the  ballroom 
next  door  was  playing  delightfully,  and  Luck  was 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPfi.  47 

in  her  most  capricious  mood.  Later  on  the  Prince 
gave  a  dance,  and  Sophia  was  only  waiting  for  the 
announcement  of  the  arrival  of  the  first  guests  to 
leave  the  table  and  perform  the  much  less  congenial 
duty  of  receiving  them. 

Eleven  struck,  and  a  footman  came  to  tell  her  that 
the  first  carriage  was  already  coming  up  to  the 
portico.  Sophia  was  just  at  the  end  of  her  deal ; 
the  Prince  was  sitting  on  her  right.  He  had  lost 
once  and  gained  once  at  rouge  et  noir.  She  held  the 
pack  ready  to  give  him  his  third  and  last  card. 

'  For  the  last.  Prince,  and  then  I  must  go,'  she 
said.     '  No  limit  to  the  stake,  if  you  wish.' 

*  I  stake  all  I  possess  and  am  on  noir,'  said  he 
gravely. 

'  You  have  lost,'  said  Sophia,  laughing.  '  It  is 
a  heart.' 

*  Then  have  I  won  ?  '  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  look- 
ing at  her. 

She  stood  still  a  moment  (the  others  had  heard 
his  stake,  though  not  his  last  reply),  and  a  faint 
flush  spread  over  her  face. 

'  I  was  but  jesting,  and  I  will  not  beggar  you,'  she 
said.  '  Now,  alas  !  I  must  go.  Oh  for  half  an 
hour  more  !  But,  Prince,  I  think  there  will  be 
time  for  one  short  game  at  bezique  when  the  ball 
is  over.' 

'  But  I  was  not  jesting — I  never  jest  when  I  am 
playing  cards,'  he  said.  '  Yes,  let  us  play  one  game 
after  the  ball.' 

The  two  danced  with  each  other  more  than  once 


43  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

during  the  evening,  but  for  the  most  part  Prince 
Petros  was  a  model  of  sedulous  gallantry  to  the 
official  ladies  of  Rhodope.  The  wife  of  the  mayor, 
a  stout,  immovable  lady,  entirely  lost  her  heart  to 
him.  Twice  had  he  waltzed  with  her,  or,  rather, 
twice  had  he  skipped  round  and  round  her,  as  a 
child  may  skip  round  a  firmly-rooted  tree.  She, 
like  the  tree  which  is  planted  in  the  whirling  earth, 
seemed  to  do  little  more  than  revolve  on  her  axis 
once  in  twenty-four  hours  ;  but  she  enjoyed  dancing, 
she  said,  very  much,  and  it  certainly  made  her  very 
hot.  Nor  was  he  wanting  here  ;  he  poured  ices  and 
exhilarating  drinks  down  her  capacious  throat,  as  if 
to  quench  some  wild  internal  conflagration,  and  the 
mayoress,  so  he  told  Sophia  afterwards,  had  confided 
to  him  that  she,  too,  was  of  princely  line. 

With  the  younger  ladies  he  was  no  less  successful. 
He  was  never  tired  of  dancing,  his  steering  was  of 
so  fine  an  order  that  it  seemed  an  exhibition  of  luck, 
and  the  step  of  each  of  his  partners  he  gaily  asserted 
— as,  indeed,  he  had  shamelessly  declared  to  the 
mayoress — suited  his  own  exactly.  He  admired 
everything,  and  he  flattered  everybody,  yet  so 
adroitly  that  his  partners  only  thought  that  they 
themselves  were  exceptionally  enchanting  that  night. 
He  told  a  young,  aesthetically-dressed  woman,  the 
wife  of  the  Prince's  aide-de-camp,  that  she  reminded 
him  of  Whistler's  symphony  in  green,  a  title  which 
his  ready  invention  had  coined  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  but  which  earned  him  a  life-long  gratitude, 
for  Madame  Elsprach  had  been  secretly  afraid  that 


A  FOOL  COMES  TO  RHODOPlfc.  49 

she  had  rather  overdone  it.  In  a  word,  when  the 
ball  was  over,  he  felt  that  he  had  earned  his  game 
at  bezique,  and  he  got  it. 

Next  morning  he  asked  an  audience  of  Prince 
Demetrius,  and  this  was  granted  him.  Armed  with 
a  permission  from  him,  he  inquired  for  Sophia,  for 
they  were  soon  to  ride  together.  He  found  her  in 
the  garden,  dressed  for  the  ride,  and  alone. 

'  Princess,'  he  said,  '  I  have  come  to  pay  you  my 
stake.  Will  you  accept  it  ?  Sophia,  will  you 
accept  it  ?  ' 

*  Yes,  Petros,'  she  replied. 


CHAPTER    III. 

MARRIAGE-BELLS    AND    SYSTEMS. 

Prince  Petros  scarcely  seemed  to  have  overrated 
— though  it  was  ever  his  habit  to  take  a  sufficiently 
rosy  view  of  the  verdict  of  the  world  on  himself — 
the  favourable  impression  he  had  made  in  those  two 
days  at  Amandos.  The  officers  whom  he  had  met 
at  the  review  admired  his  fine  horsemanship  no  less 
than  his  amiability,  for  no  man  could  be  more  agree- 
able without  any  suspicion  of  condescension  than  he. 
The  ladies  of  the  Court  were  entranced  by  the  charm 
of  his  manners  and  the  grace  of  his  dancing.  Sophia, 
as  has  been  seen,  was  captive  to  the  mastery  of  his 
bezique,  and  Prince  Demetrius,  a  testimonial  to  the 
full  as  striking  as  any  of  these,  had  never  snarled  at 
him  once.  The  fact  of  their  betrothal  was  made 
known  before  the  lapse  of  many  days,  and  the  news 
evoked  bells,  fireworks  and  universal  approval. 

Sophia's  acceptance  of  him  delighted  her  father, 
and  he  would  certainly  have  made  himself  odious 
had  she  refused  him.  He  had  no  wish  to  see  his 
daughter  a  second  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  romance 
of  such  a  figure  in  his  eyes  bore  no  comparison  with 
the  desired  consummation  of  his  hopes  to  see  her  a 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       51 

matron  with  a  lusty  and  numerous  progeny.  His 
cousins  he  frankly  looked  upon  in  the  light  of  ob- 
scene birds  of  prey,  ready  to  batten  on  his  own 
extinct  line.  Already,  so  it  seemed  to  him,  they 
were  hopping  hungrily  about  the  steps  of  the  throne 
of  Rhodope,  but  the  news  of  Sophia's  betrothal 
scared  them  hurriedly  away,  and  from  afar  they  sent 
long  congratulatory  telegrams.  Prince  Demetrius 
smiled  to  himself  when  he  thought  how  bitter  must 
those  honeyed  words  have  been  to  their  royal 
authors.  The  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  so  he  thought, 
alone  acted  in  a  self-respecting  manner,  for  he  sent 
no  word. 

As  for  the  affianced  husband,  he  was  in  a  stupor 
of  content.  Thanks  to  his  native  amiability,  to 
horsemanship  nearly  as  native — for  the  Princes  of 
Herzegovina  were  men  almost  born  in  the  saddle — 
and  to  his  carefully  acquired  skill  at  the  cards, 
already  the  first  and  most  difficult  act  of  his  '  Empire 
of  the  East '  was  finished.  Had  he  been,  in  common 
with  most  gamblers,  a  victim  to  superstition,  he 
might  almost  have  been  frightened  at  the  ease  of 
these  first  steps,  and  have  taken  such  extreme 
favours  of  fortune  with  caution.  But  his  own 
common-sense  lulled  him  to  security,  and  he  played 
the  assiduous  suitor  to  perfection,  and,  indeed,  it 
was  no  part  he  played. 

Princess  Sophia  alone,  and  she  hardly  consciously, 
was  a  little  afraid  of  what  she  had  done.  During 
the  days  that  followed,  and  especially  when  the 
Prince  had  departed  on  a  hurried  visit  home,  and 


52  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

she  was  left  alone  with  her  reflections,  the  thought 
that  she  was  so  soon  to  marry  him,  to  be  indis- 
solubly  his,  came  to  her  with  a  shock  as  if  of  sudden 
awakening.  Two  days'  intercourse,  followed  by  a 
single  word,  had  changed  the  whole  course  of  her 
life ;  and  though  she  had  always  taken  it  as  a 
matter  of  certainty  that  she  would  some  time  marry, 
yet  the  imminence  of  it,  the  particulars  of  it  and 
the  ease  with  which  the  Fates  had  woven  for  her, 
hit  her  like  a  douche  of  chilly  water.  An  attractive 
person,  a  fine  horseman,  a  good  card-player,  these 
had  been  her  formulated  requirements  exhaustively 
stated,  and  they  were  fully  satisfied ;  the  measure 
had  been  pressed  down,  and  it  ran  over.  He  was 
all  these  superlatively,  and  though  she  had  never 
been  of  the  make  to  indulge  in  maidens'  fancies,  in 
daydreams  of  tenor  voices  and  faultless  coiffures, 
yet  she  wondered  if  there  was  not  something  miss- 
ing. Her  rank  necessarily  limited  the  number  of 
eligible  suitors  ;  in  this  she  acquiesced  fully,  for 
she  accepted  the  disabilities  of  being  royal,  and 
assuredly  none  so  eligible  as  Petros  had  yet  pre- 
sented himself.  But  the  illimitable  choice  of  suitable 
helpmeets  granted  to  the  middle  classes  seemed  to 
her  in  this  month  before  her  wedding  to  have 
something  in  its  favour.  Not  that  she  repented  her 
decision :  she  would  have  accepted  him  again  and 
yet  again,  and  yet  a  little  inward  voice  said  to  her, 
'  Is  this  all  ?  ' 

The  wedding  was  to  be  hurried  on,  and  its  cele- 
bration was  fixed  for  the  first  possible  day  of  July. 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       53 

Prince  Petros  had  an  ample  fortune  for  himself,  and 
it  was  not  to  be  thought  of  that  anyone  but  her 
father  should  make  settlement  on  the  Princess  of 
Rhodope.  All  that  the  old  man  wished  was  that 
there  should  be  no  delay. 

*  I  have  been  an  unconscionable  time  living,'  he 
said  one  day  to  his  daughter,  '  and  I  do  not  intend 
to  be  an  unconscionable  time  dying.  Besides,  it  is 
much  easier  when  one  is  not  in  very  good  health  to 
die  than  to  live,  and  I  have  always  wished  to  save 
myself  trouble.  So  I  propose  to  die  pretty  soon.  I 
should  like  to  see  a  grandson,  Sophia,  but  that  is  all 
I  want.' 

Sophia  started. 

'  A  grandson  !  '  she  said.  '  That  will  make  me  a 
mother.     How  very  ridiculous  !  ' 

'  Well,  if  you  choose  to  look  at  it  like  that,  I  hope 
you  will  be  ridiculous  as  soon  as  possible,  and  more 
than  once.  I  think  you  have  got  a  good  husband  ; 
he  is  not  a  fool  or  a  cad.  That  means  a  great  deal. 
Nothing  really  matters  besides  that.' 

'  I  do  not  care  for  fools  and  cads,'  remarked 
Sophia. 

'  I  knew  that,  and  that  is  why  I  was  afraid  you 
would  not  marry  at  all  ;  for  it  is  a  sad  truth  that 
most  men  are  one  or  the  other,  and  many  both. 
Your  poor  dear  mother  was  a  fool,  Sophia,'  he 
added,  with  a  touch  of  what  might  be  called  tender- 
ness. 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then  Prince 
Demetrius  went  on : 


54  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  Petros  will  save  you  a  great  deal  of  troublesome 
detail,'  he  said,  '  just  as  you  have  of  late  saved  it 
me.  He  loves  to  be  popular,  and  I  think  he  likes  a 
parade  of  power.  Let  him  have  his  fill  of  it.  There 
is  a  great  deal  of  tiresome  business  in  the  working  of 
the  state  of  Rhodope,  about  school  boards  and 
potatoes — you  well  know  the  kind  of  thing.  He  will 
take  all  that  off  your  hands,  and  at  the  same  time 
win  golden  opinions  for  himself,  and  enjoy  his  little 
triumphs.  In  fact,  it  will  add  to  the  absurd  venera- 
tion— for  it  is  absurd — in  which  we  are  held  by  the 
people  if  you  make  yourself,  when  you  are  on  the 
throne,  rather  more  scarce  than  I  have  done.  Let 
your  appearances  be  something  to  be  remembered  ; 
do  not  let  the  people  get  used  to  you.' 

Sophia  looked  up. 

'  Yes,  I  never  thought  of  that ;  that  will  be  a  great 
advantage.  Petros  can  constantly  take  my  place  in 
the  Assembly,  and  I  hope  he  will  enjoy  it  more  than 
I  have  done.  He  can  see  to  the  tobacco  and  potato 
bills  during  the  day,  and  play  cards  in  the  evening. 
He  likes  detail — he  told  me  so.  He  says  it  is  only  by 
great  attention  to  details  that  anyone  arrives  at 
great  results.' 

'  Oh,  he  said  that,  did  he  ?  '  remarked  her  father, 
and  then  rejected  the  idea  that  had  leaped  un- 
bidden into  his  mind,  as  out  of  the  question.  He 
Uttle  knew  how  nearly  true  Prince  Petros's  words 
would  prove. 

Within  a  month  from  their  betrothal  the  wedding 
was  celebrated.     Royal  personages  flocked  from  all 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       55 

countries  to  Rhodope,  and  the  ports  of  Mavromati 
and  Bultack  were  gay  with  the  flags  of  all  nations. 
The  palace  at  Amandos,  as  well  as  the  shooting- 
boxes  on  the  hills  above,  were  filled  with  guests, 
and  the  odour  of  the  wedding  bake-meats  was  in 
the  air.  Prince  Demetrius  was  a  miracle  of  courtesy 
to  his  visitors,  thereby  doing  a  violence  to  his 
normal  nature.  But  he  was  so  uncommonly 
pleased  at  the  event,  that  this  subversion  of  his 
habits  may  be  forgiven  him.  Prince  Petros  played 
his  part — if  indeed  such  a  term  can  be  apphed  to 
a  gratification  so  sincere — to  admiration,  and  the 
more  open-minded  of  those  whom  Prince  Deme- 
trius had  alluded  to  as  birds  of  prey  confessed 
that  so  amiable  a  paragon  had  no  more  than  his 
deserts. 

The  entertainment,  both  of  the  visitors  of  the 
Prince  and  of  the  native  populace,  endorsed  the 
reputation  for  hospitality  which  Rhodope  has  al- 
ways enjoyed.  Down  the  sides  of  the  square  in 
which  stood  the  cathedral  where  the  wedding  was 
to  be  celebrated  ran  immense  tables  at  which  all 
comers  were  feasted.  Oxen  were  roasted  whole  in 
the  market-place,  and  the  cellars  of  the  Prince 
poured  out,  like  the  opened  sluices  of  a  river  in 
flood,  the  garnered  sunshine  of  summers  long 
past.  Magnificent,  too,  were  the  presents  of  the 
bride  and  bridegroom.  There  were  ropes  of  pearls, 
some  like  misty  moons,  some  pink,  some  black, 
and  of  extraordinary  lustre  ;  two  diamond  tiaras, 
in  the  centre  of  one  of  which  blazed  the  famous 


56  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  Blue  Wonder,'  a  stone  from  Golconda  of  priceless 
worth  ;  a  necklace  of  opals  set  in  diamonds  ;  a 
ruby  brooch  of  unmatched  depth  of  colour,  each 
stone  being  of  the  true  pigeon's  blood ;  eighteen 
gold  shoe-horns,  on  each  of  which  was  the  Prin- 
cess's monogram  and  a  crown  in  diamonds ;  a 
bezique-box  of  chrysoprase,  with  hinges  and  lock 
of  gold  (this  was  from  the  bridegroom  to  the  bride)  ; 
four  beautiful  bicycles  ;  eight  complete  Louis  Seize 
tea  services,  with  cups  of  royal  blue  Sevres ;  five 
gold-fitted  tea-baskets  for  four  people ;  and  a 
perfect  grove  of  gold-handled  umbrellas,  among 
which  lay  gold-mounted  dressing-cases,  like  boulders 
in  a  pine-wood,  and  enough  antique  candlesticks  to 
illuminate  the  whole  kingdom.  More  curious  still 
was  a  roulette-board,  of  which  the  marble  was  a 
sapphire,  and  all  the  numbers  set  in  precious  stones, 
and  (for  the  folk  of  Rhodope  knew  their  beloved 
Princess's  tastes,  and  were  anxious  to  give  her 
presents  which  would  certainly  be  useful  to  her)  two 
thousand  packs  of  picquet  cards,  a  gift  from  the 
Board-school  children  of  Amandos. 

The  cathedral — that  small  but  exquisite  building, 
built,  it  is  said,  on  the  designs  of  Prince  Djem — 
was  not  sufficient  to  seat  more  than  the  invited 
guests  of  Prince  Demetrius  and  the  chief  officials 
of  the  State  ;  but  outside  tiers  and  tiers  of  benches 
had  been  erected  in  the  streets,  and  immense  wedge- 
shaped  stands  on  the  flat  roofs  of  the  municipal 
buildings  which  line  the  square.  The  enthusiasm 
was  prodigious  ;  long  before  the  head  of  the  proces- 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       57 

sion  reached  the  square,  the  shouting  from  the  folk 
who  lined  the  route  from  the  Palace  was  like  the 
roar  of  the  sea,  and  when  the  Guards  and  the  first 
of  the  royal  carriages  appeared,  the  people  rose  like 
one  man,  and  every  throat  was  loud  with  the 
Rhodope  National  Anthem.  Never  had  Prince 
Petros  worn  a  more  engaging  smile  than  when, 
from  his  fine  black  charger,  he  acknowledged  right 
and  left  the  thunder  of  their  welcome  ;  never  had 
Sophia  looked  more  graciously  magnificent  than 
when  she  bowed  from  the  carriage  containing  her 
and  Prince  Demetrius,  The  maddening  music  of 
the  shouts  touched  her  heart,  and  the  bet  that 
she  had  made  with  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Rou- 
mania,  that  they  would  not  reach  the  square  under 
an  hour  from  the  time  they  left  the  Palace,  was, 
even  though  she  had  won,  completely  effaced  from 
her  mind,  and  Princess  Charlotte  never  paid. 

The  two  left  Amandos  the  evening  after  the 
wedding  for  their  honeymoon,  which  they  were  to 
spend  on  Prince  Demetrius's  yacht,  cruising  in  the 
Mediterranean.  The  twelve  miles  of  road  down  to 
Mavromati  was  illuminated  with  Oriental  gorgeous- 
ness,  and  a  continuous  torchlight  procession  of 
runners,  picturesquely  clothed  in  the  national  cos- 
tume, accompanied  them  down  to  the  sea.  Every 
half-mile  there  was  a  fresh  relay  of  a  hundred, 
who  ran  with  them  their  appointed  course,  and 
then,  throwing  their  torches  in  the  air  by  way  of 
salute,  gave  way  to  the  next.  The  port  was  one 
blaze  of  coloured  light,   and  the  yacht  Felatrime 


58  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

a  ship  from  Fairyland.  Sophia,  warm-hearted  and 
impulsive,  was  greatly  affected  by  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  ;  it  was  for  her  they  had  made  the 
darkness  many-coloured ;  it  was  the  wishes  for  her 
happiness  that  turned  the  wonted  silence  of  night 
into  a  chorus  of  sound.  Once  during  the  drive  down 
she  had  touched  Petros  on  the  arm. 

'  It  is  for  me  they  have  done  this,  these  dear 
folk/  she  said. 

'  Yes,  darling,  for  us,'  said  Petros  ;  and  Sophia 
thought,  but  without  resentment,  that  there  was 
just  a  touch  of  correction  in  his  voice. 

'  Yes,  for  us,'  she  repeated  ;  and  her  emotion 
almost  made  her  feel  she  loved  him,  for  the  inward 
voice  which  had  queried  '  Is  this  all  ?  '  was  an- 
swered by,  '  Is  this  not  enough  ?  ' 

The  yacht  put  off  as  soon  as  they  were  on  board, 
and  after  waiting  on  deck — Danae  to  the  golden 
showers  of  fireworks — till  the  shore  had  faded  to  a 
blur  of  light,  they  went  below.  Supper  was  pre- 
pared for  them,  and  on  another  table  were  candles 
and  the  bezique  packs,  put  there  by  some  thoughtful 
servant. 

Sophia  saw  them,  and  her  eyes  grew  bright  and 
dim. 

'  How  kind  they  all  are  !  '  she  said.  '  They  think 
of  everything.' 

Prince  Petros  had  also  seen. 

'  Yes,  a  game  of  bezique  would  be  pleasant  after 
supper,'  he  said ;  but  Sophia,  womanlike  and  un- 
reasonable, felt  a  touch  chilled. 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       59 

In  halcyon  weather  they  hastened  a  south- 
westerly course,  and  the  second  day  saw  them 
gliding,  under  the  cloud-cowled  head  of  Etna, 
through  the  Straits  of  Messina.  They  made  the 
straits  by  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  dusk  showed 
them  the  beacon  of  Stromboli  lit  on  the  starboard 
bow.  It  had  been  almost  tacitly  agreed  that  they 
were  to  go  straight  to  Monte  Carlo,  or,  as  Sophia 
put  it,  that  very  pleasant  place,  somewhere  on  the 
Riviera,  where  you  could  play  for  small  stakes  with- 
out a  raid  from  the  police. 

But  soon  after  they  had  got  free  of  the  Straits,  it 
became  evident  that  the  halcyon  days  were  over, 
for  a  stiff  gale  was  blowing,  and  as  the  yacht  threw 
the  knots  over  its  quarter,  the  sea,  which  on  leav- 
ing the  Straits  was  choppy,  grew  frankly  rough, 
and  they  pitched  considerably  to  the  head  sea, 
even  the  bowsprit  now  and  then  dipping,  and 
raising  itself  again  with  a  little  whiff  of  spray. 
They  were  sitting  on  the  aft  deck,  and  Sophia  was 
feeling  exhilarated  by  the  leap  and  shock  of  the 
encountered  waves. 

*  Oh,  Petros  !  '  she  exxlaimed,  '  is  it  not  wild  and 
splendid  ?  I  love  the  sea  !  And  here  we  are,  you 
and  I  only.' 

She  stopped  suddenly,  for  Petros  had  left  her  ; 
only  a  dark  figure  was  scudding  sideways  to  the 
companion  ladder. 

That  evening  her  husband  had  a  little  soup  in 
the  privacy  of  his  cabin,  for  the  sea  continued 
boisterous,  and  Sophia   dined  alone.     It  was  ex- 


6o  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

ceedingly  rough  ;  the  fiddles  were  on  the  table, 
and  she  had  to  make  swoops  and  dashes  at  her  food, 
and  peck,  as  it  were,  at  her  glass.  But  though  she 
ate  wdth  an  excellent  appetite  (for  the  sea  air  always 
made  her  hungry),  she  had  a  clouded  brow.  She 
was  sorry  for  Petros'  indisposition,  but  she  felt  not 
the  slightest  inclination  to  sit  by  his  bedside,  read 
to  him,  or  remind  him  that  his  was  only  a  transient 
agony.  In  fact,  it  was  ridiculous  that  a  man 
should  be  sea-sick,  as  ridiculous  as  that  a  man  should 
not  be  able  to  ride  ;  and  as  a  matter  so  super- 
ficial as  a  man's  seat  on  a  horse  had  been  among 
the  factors  which  attracted  her  to  him,  so  she 
found  that  a  matter  so  superficial  as  this  failure  of 
his  internal  mechanism  to  stand  a  rough  sea  was 
a  factor  on  the  other  side.  The  whole  affair,  how- 
ever, was  so  infinitesimal  that  she  soon  dismissed 
it  from  a  mind  that  never  indulged  in  that  melan- 
choly diversion  self-analysis,  and  she  played  several 
games  of  Russian  patience  by  herself,  and  obtained 
fresh  light  on  the  subject  of  the  maliciousness  of 
inanimate  things. 

The  yacht  arrived  at  '  that  very  pleasant  place  on 
the  Riviera  '  two  days  after,  and  the  newly-married 
pair  spent  a  very  interesting  fortnight  there.  One 
thing  alone  troubled  Sophia,  and  that  was  the  dis- 
covery that  her  husband  played  on  a  finely  elaborated 
and  seemingly  successful  system,  involving  aU  sorts 
of  abstruse  sums  in  multiplication.  Now,  this  to 
her  was  a  shock,  for  she  was  of  the  type  of  gambler 
which,  for  want  of  a  better  word,  we  may  call  the 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       6i 

romantic.  Primarily  she  played  for  the  sake  of  the 
play,  and  it  was  not  the  winning  of  money  which 
she  enjoyed  so  much  as  the  winning  in  the  abstract. 
The  whole  charm  of  the  thing  to  her  lay  in  that 
rolling  marble  the  momentum  of  which  no  one 
knew,  not  even  the  croupier  who  set  it  going. 
She  backed  her  luck,  another  unknown  agent, 
against  the  immutable  and  incalculable  laws  of 
gravity  and  friction,  and  though  she  had  all  the 
gambler's  fine  superstitions,  and  would  back  a 
run  of  luck,  and  never  lay  a  sou  on  No.  13,  it  was  the 
utter  uncertainty  of  the  thing  which  fascinated 
her. 

She  almost  felt  that  Petros  ought  to  have  made 
a  clean  breast  of  it  before  he  married  her,  classing 
it  among  those  confessions  which  many  men  may 
have  to  make  before  they  take  a  girl  to  share  their 
lives,  and  she  was  a  little  hurt  he  had  not  done  so. 
Eventually  she  decided  one  day  to  talk  the  matter 
over  with  him. 

'  Yes  ;  I  was  surprised,  and — shall  I  say  it  ? — a 
little  disappointed,  dear,'  she  said,  '  when  I  found 
out  that  you  had  a  system.  Why  did  you  not  tell 
me  ?  Well,  never  mind.  When  a  game  depends  on 
its  uncertainty,  any  subtraction  from  that  surely 
subtracts  from  its  charm.  Suppose  anyone  invented 
an  infallible  system " 

Petros  frowned,  for  he  was  just  multiplying  one 
hundred  and  seventy-three  by  fourteen,  and  divid- 
ing it  by  seventeen,  a  calculation  often  incidental 
to  the  system  in  question. 


62  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  Mine  is  infallible,'  he  interrupted  rather  sharply. 

*  Yet  you  lost  heavily  all  the  morning,  did  you 
not?' 

'  I  shall  win  heavily  all  the  evening,  you  will 
see  ;  '  and  he  made  a  note  of  some  figures. 

'  Oh,  Petros,  leave  the  calculation  alone  a  min- 
ute,' she  said,  '  and  listen  to  me.  I  don't  think 
of  roulette  as  a  means  of  livelihood.' 

Petros  laughed. 

'  That  is  just  as  well,  dear  Sophia,'  he  said,  *  for 
you  would  not  exactly  have  paid  your  way  since 
you  have  been  here.' 

'  Oh,  hear  me  out,'  she  replied.  '  It  is  the  excite- 
ment I  love  it  for.  I  do  not  think  of  Monte  Carlo 
as  a  sort  of  Stock  Exchange,  where  the  acute  make 
money  and  the  stupid  lose  it,  A  system  reduces  it 
to  just  that — a  sort  of  Stock  Exchange  without  any 
bulls  and  bears,  whatever  they  are.' 

'  I  prefer  to  win,'  said  Petros. 

'  Yes  j  so  do  I,  but  I  would  not  promise  never  to 
go  to  the  tables  if  the  croupier  gave  me  an  annuity 
to  keep  away.' 

'  It  depends  on  the  size  of  the  annuity.' 

'  Ah,  then,  that  is  exactly  where  we  differ,'  said 
she,  rising.  '  I  should  be  no  happier  for  an  annuity, 
nor,  indeed,  would  you,  but  I  am  a  great  deal 
happier  for  a  little  excitement.  It  is  a  lovely  after- 
noon. What  a  wonderful  colour  the  sea  is  !  Let 
us  go  to  the  tables.' 

Petros  won  largely  that  afternoon,  and  the  system 
justified  itself  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  a  system  to 


MARRIAGE-BELLS  AND  SYSTEMS.       63 

be  justified.  But  the  charm  of  him  considered 
merely  as  a  gambler,  as  a  man  who  had  made  a 
fortune  at  Homburg,  had  terribly  faded  in  Sophia's 
eyes  ;  indeed,  to  win  money  at  the  tables  on  a 
system  seemed  to  her  slightly  sordid,  a  kind  of 
trade,  and  the  money  thus  won,  she  imagined, 
would  have  a  kind  of  stuffy  smell  about  it.  The 
feeling  she  knew  was  unreasonable,  and  she  did  not 
defend  it  ;  but  she  never  fell  into  the  error  of 
reasoning  about  a  conviction,  and  concluding  that 
she  was  made  so  and  her  husband  otherwise,  she 
dismissed  the  matter  as  far  as  possible  from  her 
mind. 

She  herself  on  the  last  day  that  they  were  there 
had  one  of  those  runs  of  luck  which  occur  once  in 
a  lifetime.  Four  times  she  staked  a  hundred 
napoleons  on  one  number,  and  twice  out  of  the 
four  times,  incredible  to  state,  won.  Then  she 
played  on  the  colour  for  half  an  hour,  and  lost 
scarcely  once  out  of  ten  times,  and,  to  crown  all, 
backed  the  bank  for  the  last  hour  and  cleared  as 
much  again.  Petros  was  aghast ;  he  himself 
would  never  have  backed  one  number,  and  to  do 
so  four  times  seemed  to  him  either  imbecile  or 
criminal,  and  he  could  not  say  to  himself  that 
Sophia  was  imbecile.  It  materially  added  to  his 
annoyance  to  see  her  win  twice,  while  the  sordid 
and  infallible  system  was  losing  on  an  average 
fifty  francs  an  hour — a  monotonous  and  inglorious 
form  of  adventure.  He  felt  warmly  on  the  subject, 
and  as  they  were  rowed  across  to  the  yacht  that 


64  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

night  addressed  a  remark  to  Sophia  which  she  keenly 
resented. 

'  I  would  as  soon  think  of  backing  one  number/ 
he  said,  '  as  of  robbing  my  father.' 

'  And  I  would  as  soon  think  of  playing  on  a 
system,'  returned  Sophia,  with  spirit,  '  as  of  being 
sea-sick.' 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   LAST   DAYS   OF   PRINCE    DEMETRIUS. 

Prince  Demetrius  was  not  destined  to  see  the 
fulfilment  of  his  remoter  hope,  and  to  take  a  grand- 
child on  his  knee.  In  the  September  of  this  year, 
directly  after  the  return  of  Sophia  and  her  husband, 
he  underwent  an  operation  for  tumour,  and  in 
November  it  was  found  that  there  was  a  re- 
crudescence of  the  malady.  A  portion  of  the 
growth  was  removed  by  the  forceps  and  sent  for 
examination  to  Professor  Virchow  at  Berlin,  who 
reported  unfavourably  on  it.  The  growth,  it  ap- 
peared on  examination,  was  malignant,  and  the 
professor  feared  that  there  was  no  doubt  that  it 
was  cancerous.  He  wrote  at  length  to  the  Prince's 
medical  adviser,  stating  that  life  might  perhaps  be 
prolonged  by  a  second  operation,  but  that  the  re- 
appearance of  the  disease  so  short  a  time  after  the 
first  operation  indicated  that  the  knife  could  not 
effect  a  permanent  cure.  It  was  advisable,  so  he 
thought,  to  acquaint  Princess  Sophia  with  the  true 
state  of  the  case,  and  let  the  patient  decide  whether 
he  would  undergo  a  second  operation  or  not.  To 
one  in  his  state  of  health  this  would  be  risky,  if  not 

3 


66  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

positively  dangerous — in  fact,  the  case  was  exactly 
one  of  those  when  it  was  right  that  the  patient 
should  decide. 

The  Prince's  doctor  did  as  the  pathologist  sug- 
gested, and  consulted  Princess  Sophia.  She  was 
perfectly  clear  that  it  was  better  to  tell  her  father, 
and  then  leave  the  decision  with  him.  Stricken  as 
she  was,  for  she  had  a  strong  personal  affection  for 
her  father  independent  of  the  natural  tie  of  relation- 
ship, she  offered  to  tell  him  herself  of  the  professor's 
report,  and  the  doctor  gladly  accepted  her  pro- 
posal. 

It  was  one  of  the  Prince's  good  days  on  which  she 
went  to  acquaint  him  with  his  condition,  and  the 
exceeding  pain  which  he  had  suffered  for  more  than 
a  week  was  sensibly  less.  For  a  great  part  of  this 
period  he  had  been  kept  as  far  as  possible  under  the 
dulling  influence  of  morphia  ;  but  he  had  slept  a 
natural  sleep  the  night  before,  and  had  awoke  his 
own  man. 

Outside  the  day  was  typically  autumnal ;  the 
great  groves  of  chestnuts,  which  stretched  down 
from  the  lawn  to  the  river,  were  in  the  short  blaze 
of  their  gaudy  liveries,  and  a  coolness  ineffably 
brisk  and  bracing  was  in  the  air.  There  had  been 
a  slight  frost  during  the  night,  already  the  more 
brilliant  of  the  leaves  were  falling,  and  the  sweet 
odour  of  cleanliness  came  in  through  the  open 
windows.  The  Princess,  as  she  walked  slowly  from 
the  room  where  she  had  breakfast  d  to  her  father's 
bedroom,  was  touched  in  a  way  that  hitherto  had 


LAST  DAYS  OF  PRINCE  DEMETRIUS.    67 

been  unknown  to  her,  with  the  terrible  thought- 
lessness of  inanimate  things.  This  shedding  of 
the  russet  foliage  was  but  a  simulated  tragedy ; 
next  spring  the  trees  would  again  be  green  and 
luxuriant  as  if  no  winter  had  ever  interrupted  their 
perennial  vigour  ;  winter  to  them  was  but  a  time 
for  sleep,  a  renovation  of  their  life,  while  to  the 
puny  sons  of  men  no  spring  restored  the  ravages 
of  time  past.  She  looked  out  over  the  inimitable 
freshness  of  the  land  as  she  waited  to  know  if  her 
father  could  receive  her,  and  the  sense  of  contrast 
between  the  infinitesimal  limits  of  humanity  and 
its  infinite  possibilities  caused  her  eyes  to  fill  with 
tears.  How  momentous  and  trivial  a  thing  was 
life! 

Yes,  he  would  see  her  at  once  ;  and  she  entered. 

Prince  Demetrius  was  in  a  humour  at  which 
imagination  might  boggle.  He  had  enjoyed  a  good 
night  ;  his  pain  was  relieved,  and  he  had  reverted 
to  his  own  diabolical  temper. 

Sophia  stood  for  a  moment  in  the  doorway, 
hidden  from  the  bed  where  her  father  lay  by  a 
screen,  her  nerves  shrinking  from  that  which  lay 
before  her,  and  steeling  herself  to  go  in.  A  voice 
from  the  bed,  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
acidity  in  it,  helped  her  to  make  the  effort  needed. 

'  I  should  have  thought  a  priori,'  remarked 
Prince  Demetrius,  '  that  a  door  must  either  be 
shut  or  open,  but  you,  Sophia,  seem  to  have  grasped 
the  subtlety  of  touch  which  is  necessary  to  the 
leaving  of  it   neither  one   nor  the  other.     Please 


68  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

decide  which  you  intend  to  do,  and  for  God's  sake 

do  it; 

She  drew  a  long  breath,  shut  the  door,  and  came 
to  the  bedside. 

'  Good-morning,  father,'  she  said.  '  They  told 
me  you  had  a  very  good  night.  I  am  so  glad  ;  ' 
and  she  kissed  him  on  the  forehead. 

'  The  worst  of  a  good  night,'  remarked  her  father, 
'  is  that  you  do  not  know  it  is  good  until  it  is  over. 
The  pleasure  of  it  is  as  unreal  as  the  pain  of  a  re- 
gret. Personally  I  never  regret  anything.  Fools 
regret,  and  even  a  knave  can  repent.' 

Sophia  stood  there  silent ;  the  burden  of  what 
she  had  to  say  took  from  her  the  power  of  initiat- 
ing trivialities  ;  but  her  father  went  on,  rasping 
like  a  file. 

'  When  a  thing  is  done,  it  is  done,  and  things  for 
the  most  part  do  not  produce  any  consequences  at 
all,  though  people  who  have  addled  their  brains 
with  trivial  thinking  tell  us  that  they  do.  Moral- 
ists and  philosophers  are  the  most  shallow  people 
in  the  world,  for  argument  is  ever  less  sound  than 
conviction.  This  morning,  Sophia,  you  look  as  if 
you  were  inclined  to  argue.  Please  don't  do  that, 
or,  if  you  must  argue — I  know  it  may  happen  to 
any  of  us — please  go  and  argue  in  the  passage,  where 
I  can't  hear  you.' 

Sophia  sat  down  by  the  bedside. 

'  I  am  not  come  to  argue,'  she  said  ;  '  but,  father, 
I  am  come  to  talk.  I  am  come  to  tell  you  some- 
thing.' 


LAST  DAYS  OF  PRINCE  DEMETRIUS.    69 

'  Tell  it,  then,'  said  Demetrius,  with  the  com- 
posure of  a  tree. 

'  It  is  this  :  I  have  a  report  from  Berlin,  and  a 
question  to  ask  you '  and  she  stopped. 

'  The  message  first,  the  question  afterwards,'  said 
Prince  Demetrius,  and  his  composure  seemed  quite 
unshaken. 

'  Professor  Virchow  has  sent  a  most  unfavourable 

report ;    your  malady  is  malignant '   and  she 

stopped  again. 

'  Why  the  devil  not  say  cancer,  and  have  done 
with  it  ?  '  asked  that  man  of  iron. 

'  You  are  right.  And  the  question  I  have  to  ask 
you  is  whether  you  will  have  another  operation  or 
not.  They  say  it  is  for  you  to  decide.  It  will  be 
dangerous,  but  it  will,  if  successful,  prolong  your 
life  a  little.' 

Prince  Demetrius  turned  slightly  in  bed  to  look 
at  Sophia,  for  her  voice  was  unsteady. 

'  Then  it  is  the  silliest  question  I  ever  heard,' 
he  said.  '  Of  course  I  shall  have  nothing  of  the 
sort  done.  Blow  your  nose,  Sophia,  and  don't 
cry.  If  you  allude  to  the  subject  again,  I  shall 
send  you  out  of  the  room.  Tell  the  doctors  this 
only,  that  if  ever  they  ask  me  anything  so  absurd 
again,  I  shall  dispense  with  their  services.  The 
matter  is  closed.  And  now,  if  you  have  nothing 
to  do,  we  will  play  e'carte,  please.  Napoleon 
points,  and  a  hundred  francs  on  the  game.  Do 
you  remember  playing  with  me  for  the  first 
time  when  you   were  a  little  girl  ?     You  played 


70  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

well  even  then  ;  now  you  are  nearly  as  good  as  I 
am.' 

From  that  day  the  Prince  grew  rapidly  worse, 
and  he  suffered  much.  For  many  hours  in  the  day 
he  was  under  morphia,  but  a  small  interval  only 
would  elapse  between  the  passing  off  of  the  effects 
of  the  narcotic  and  the  return  of  pain.  But  in  these 
intervals  he  was  powerfully  lucid  and  incisive. 

'  It  is  this,'  he  said  once — '  this  mockery  of  life 
which  the  medical  fools  thought  I  might  wish  to 
be  prolonged.  A  man  must  have  a  singularly  low 
opinion  of  consciousness  if  he  thinks  this  is  worth 
having.  It  is  a  bore,  an  awful  bore,  Sophia,  and 
reminds  me  of  waiting  at  a  station  for  one's  train, 
which  is  the  most  inglorious  way  I  know  of  passing 
the  time.' 

'  Would  you  care  that  I  should  read  you  the  news  ?  ' 
Sophia  would  ask  sometimes. 

'  Certainly  not,'  he  answered.  '  At  last  I  feel  irre- 
sponsible. Nobody  can  do  anything  which  concerns 
me,  except  to  leave  the  door  open  when  I  prefer  it 
shut.  Really,  if  one  has  to  be  somewhere,  to  be  on  a 
death-bed  is  one  of  the  very  best  places.  Nothing 
can  touch  one  ;  it  is  like  getting  out  of  a  tunnel  full 
of  jarring  noises.' 

He  raised  himself  in  bed  a  little. 

*  I  wish  I  had  seen  your  child,  Sophia,'  he  said, 
*  and  that  is  really  all  I  want.  I  have  lived  quite 
long  enough  on  my  own  account.  There,  don't 
cry.  I  shall  have  another  half-hour,  I  suppose, 
before  the  disgusting  pain  returns,  so  let  us  play 


LAST  DAYS  OF  PRINCE  DEMETRIUS.    71 

picquet.     We  shall  have  time  for  one  par  tie,  and 
then  I  shall  send  you  away.' 

But  death  was  merciful,  and  came  quicker  than 
the  doctors  had  anticipated,  and  on  the  first  of 
January  the  Princess  Sophia  was  proclaimed  heredi- 
tary monarch  of  the  realm  of  Rhodope. 


CHAPTER   V. 

ENTER   THE   CENTIPEDE, 

One  morning  in  the  July  of  the  next  year  Sophia 
and  Petros  were  sitting  at  their  half-past-twelve 
breakfast  in  the  broad  north  veranda  of  the  palace 
at  Amandos.  A  big  Persian  rug  was  spread  under 
the  table,  but  otherwise  the  black-and-white  marble 
floor  was  uncarpeted  for  coolness.  To  the  west  the 
awnings  were  down,  but  the  whole  long  side  of  the 
gallery  towards  the  north  was  open  to  the  breeze 
which  pleasantly  tempered  the  extreme  warmth 
of  the  day.  Over  the  town  hung  a  blue  haze  of 
trembling  heat,  but  the  air  was  dry  and  invigorat- 
ing, and  though  the  thermometer  registered  a  hun- 
dred degrees,  not  oppressive. 

Coffee  had  just  been  served,  and  as  the  servants 
withdrew  Sophia  lit  a  cigarette. 

'  About  August,  Petros,'  she  said.  '  I  want  very 
much  to  go  away  the  first  week  at  latest,  and  I 
really  see  no  reason  why  I  should  not.' 

'  The  House  will  not  rise  till  September,'  said  he. 

'  Oh,  the  House,  the  House  !  '  cried  she.  '  What 
does  it  matter  what  the  House  does  ?  Let  it  fall 
down  if  it  chooses  !     I  have  signed  my  name  so 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  73 

often  during  the  last  month  that  if  I  go  on  I  shall 
get  writer's  cramp.  What  is  writer's  cramp,  by  the 
way  ?  And  what  do  all  my  signatures  amount  to  ? 
Somebody  has  a  concession  for  vine-growing,  some- 
body else  is  put  in  prison  for  a  year,  a  firm  is  given 
leave  to  supply  smokeless  powder  instead  of  Eley's. 
I  am  sick  of  it  all !  I  should  like  to  turn  Rhodope 
into  a  limited  company,  and  have  it  run  by  Durand, 
or  Spiers  and  Pond,  and  pay  one  of  their  barmaids 
so  much  a  year  to  impersonate  me.  I  want  to  go 
away  for  a  month  or  two  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
what  is  more,  Petros,  I  am  going.' 

'  If  you  have  settled  that,  why  argue  about  the 
matter,'  said  he,  'or  trouble  to  consult  me  ?  ' 

'  Well,  I  wanted  to  know  your  opinion  as  to 
whether  it  is  really  advisable  for  me  to  stop.  At 
the  same  time,  if  I  had  thought  you  would  really 
disagree  with  me,  I  should  not  have  asked  you. 
But  the  thing  is  done  now.  What  do  you  think 
about  it  ?  ' 

Petros  was  silent  a  moment.  He  had  a  plan  in  his 
head,  and  he  wished  to  play  his  cards  to  advantage. 

'  Well,  here  is  my  opinion,'  he  said  at  length. 
'  You  have  asked  for  it,  and  you  shall  have  it, 
though,  as  a  rule,  you  don't  like  being  advised,  and 
I  don't  care  about  advising.  You  are  reigning 
Princess  of  this  country,  and  that  delightful  posi- 
tion  ' 

Sophia  laughed. 

'  I  would  sooner  be  a  milkmaid,'  she  said,  '  but 
such  a  thing  is  not  possible.' 


74  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  And  that  delightful  position,'  continued  Petros, 
with  the  irritating  manner  of  a  man  unaware  of 
an  interruption,  '  has  certain  responsibilities  at- 
tached to  it.  You  cannot  get  rid  of  them  except 
by  sheer  gross  neglect  of  your  duties,  but  to  tell 
you  the  truth,  they  are  not  very  onerous.  One 
of  them  is  that  you  should  preserve  the  form,  at 
any  rate,  of  attending  to  the  business  of  the  House. 
I  do  not  think  you  need  really  fear  writer's  cramp 
from  signing  their  resolutions,  whatever  writer's 
cramp  may  be  ;  I  suppose  it  is  the  result  of  writ- 
ing.   But  you  must  perform  your  simple  duties ' 

'  I  have  seen  that  in  copper-plate  hand  in  the 
copy-books  I  used  to  do  when  I  was  a  child,'  re- 
marked Sophia. 

'  That  is  where  I  got  it  from.  It  seems  to  me 
very  true,  though  a  little  stale.  I  do  not  interfere 
with  you,  as  you  very  well  know,  and  I  am,  of 
course,  powerless  to  prevent  you  going  away  when 
you  wish.  But  I  think  you  will  make  a  very  great 
mistake  if  you  go  away  now.' 

'  Tant  pis,'  said  she.  '  Let  us  start  on  the  last 
day  of  this  month.  And  oh,  Petros,  there  is  a  little 
place  on  the  Riviera ' 

Petros  rose  and  walked  about  in  seeming  agita- 
tion for  a  moment  or  two.  He  was  managing  his 
cards  beautifully.     Then  he  turned  sharply  to  her. 

'  Go,  then,  Sophia,'  he  said  ;  '  but  I  shall  not 
come  with  you.' 

Sophia  stared. 

'  Why  not  ? '  she  asked.     '  I  promise  never  to 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  75 

refer  to  your  system.     And  the  sea  is  usually  calm 
■at  this  time  of  year.' 

'  That  is  not  the  reason.' 

'  What  is  it,  then  ?  '  she  asked, 

'  Because  the  mischief  which  your  absence  during 
a  sitting  of  the  House  will  entail  will  be  sensibly 
lessened — I  do  not  wish  to  overrate  my  position — 
if  I  remain  here,  and  have  the  air  of  attending  very 
sedulously  to  the  affairs  of  the  State.  There  are 
certain  businesses  of  the  kind  which  you  have  al- 
lowed me  to  transact  for  you  before— the  less  im- 
portant Bills,  in  fact ;  with  your  permission,  I  will 
attend  to  them  again.  We  want  a  fresh  strain  of 
blood  in  the  trooper's  horses,  for  instance  ;  at  any 
rate,  I  can  go  carefully  into  the  expenses  and  busi- 
ness incidental  to  that.  I  know  a  little  about  horse- 
breeding  ;  I  may  even  be  useful  on  that  question. 
The  Bill  will  come  before  the  House  in  the  second 
week  in  August.  I  can,  at  least,  serve  on  a  com- 
mittee. Later,  when  the  House  rises,  I  will  join 
you.     How  does  my  plan  strike  you  ?  ' 

Sophia  was  touched. 

'  It  is  good  of  you  to  suggest  that,  Petros,'  she 
said.  '  It  would  be  absurd  for  me  to  refuse  your 
offer.  You  will  not  be  very  dull  here  ?  No  ? 
And  it  won't  look  odd,  will  it,  if  I  go  and  you  stop 
here  ?  I  have  a  horror  of  doing  things  that  look 
odd.' 

'  Not  so  odd,  at  any  rate,  as  if  we  both  went  away,' 
said  Petros. 

'  And  much  less  odd  than  if  I  stopped  here  all 


76  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

August,'  remarked  Sophia  in  self-defence.  '  It 
would  be  an  imbecility.' 

Sophia  got  up  from  the  table,  and  went  in- 
doors to  the  nursery  to  see  the  adorable  Leonard, 
the  four-months-old  baby.  Petros's  arrangement 
seemed  to  her  to  be  in  every  way  admirable.  Apart 
from  the  convenience  of  getting  away  when  she 
wanted,  it  gave  her  the  opportunity  of  getting  away 
alone.  She  was  fond  of  her  husband,  but  con- 
stantly irritated  by  him.  She  had  no  idea  of  let- 
ting herself  be  schooled  by  him  into  dependence, 
to  be  taught  the  duty  of  royalty  by  him,  and  she 
never  forgot  that  she  was  Princess  of  Rhodope, 
and  he  her  husband.  More  than  once  had  he  at- 
tempted to  point  out  to  her  his  idea  of  what  a  wife's 
attitude  should  be  to  her  husband,  and  what  a  mon- 
arch's attitude  towards  the  people,  and  her  retort 
had  been  not  far  to  seek.  She  was  autocrat  of 
Rhodope,  and  she  was  not  going  to  be  taught  by 
anybody. 

Petros,  she  found,  was  not  only  master  of  the 
subtleties  of  bezique,  he  knew  also  the  most  refined 
secrets  of  irritating  conversation.  With  all  his 
varied  gifts,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  be  a  pedant, 
a  schoolmaster  in  private  life,  and,  what  is  worse, 
to  be  quite  unconscious  of  his  pedantry.  Sophia 
resented  with  every  fibre  in  her  nature  his  attempts 
to  instruct  her,  to  develop  her  mind,  and,  indeed, 
the  chief  result  of  his  schooling  had  been  to  develop 
her  impatience  of  him.  Living  with  him  was  like 
living  in  a  stuffy  room  with  only  high-backed  chairs. 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  'j^ 

He  was  for  ever  wanting  her  to  sit  up  straight,  and 
listen  to  improving  conversation,  whereas  she 
wanted  to  lounge  imperially  by  an  open  window. 
Something  of  the  blood  of  generations  of  irrespon- 
sible rulers  ran  in  her  veins  ;  the  unbridled  license 
of  Eastern  tyrants  had  mingled  with  the  refinement 
of  the  student  line  of  Florence  to  compound  a  subtle 
temperament.  He  had  once  alluded  to  some  wise 
act  of  the  Czar,  wishing  her  to  draw  a  lesson  from 
it,  but  in  a  moment  her  nose  was  in  the  air. 

'  The  Romanoffs  were  feeding  pigs  when  we  were 
kings,'  she  had  said. 

Her  education,  so  to  speak,  had  been  the  work 
of  generations  of  ancestors,  accomplished  prenatally, 
and  she  owed  more  to  them  than  to  her  tutors.  It 
was  Tamburlaine  who  had  smoked  a  cigarette  on 
the  horse-block,  and  Lorenzo,  more  than  her  masters, 
who  had  given  her  that  quick  artistic  perception 
that  made  the  great  singers  of  Europe  love  to  sing 
to  her  accompaniment.  The  blood  of  the  great 
Catherine  was  hers,  too,  and  hers  by  inheritance 
the  intolerance  of  rulers.  '  Cest  man  plaisir  '  was 
reason  enough  with  her.  Indeed,  she  needed  a 
clever  husband  and  a  loyal  people.  The  former 
she  had  got  in  a  way,  but  his  cleverness  was  more  akin 
to  cunning  than  to  wisdom  or  broadness  of  vision. 
To  trace  the  process  of  thought  was  to  him  as  valu- 
able as  the  conception  itself,  and  it  pleased  him 
more  to  make  an  infinitesimal  deduction  correctly 
than  to  blunder  splendidly.  She  was  headstrong, 
and  would  never  be  small  ;    he  was  a  master  of 


y%  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

finesse,  but  could  never  be  big.  Slie  was  royal  to 
her  finger-tips,  he  was  only  the  cadet  of  a  family 
that  happened  to  be  reigning.  Her  second  need 
— a  large  loyalty  from  her  people — was  more  com- 
pletely hers  than  he  guessed.  What  she  did  was 
right,  and  how  firmly  the  people  of  Rhodope  held 
that  creed  he  was  to  learn.  The  spirit  preached 
from  Potsdam  had  possession  of  their  hearts. 

Petros  sat  still  on  the  veranda  after  she  had  left 
him,  and  smoked  contentedly.  If  Sophia  found 
him  irritating,  he  at  any  rate  bore  the  knowledge 
with  equanimity.  He  had  not  looked  for  domestic 
bliss  in  his  marriage  ;  for  he  did  not  aim  at  domes- 
ticity, and  he  did  not  believe  in  bliss.  But  every 
day  found  him  more  thankful  that  he  had  married 
her,  for  he  believed  in  ambition,  especially  when  it 
was  his  own.  Rhodope  seemed  to  him  more  enviable 
than  ever,  and  he  fully  intended  to  make  a  bid  for 
it.  Rhodope,  he  said  to  himself  with  sublime  self- 
sufficiency  as  he  was  shaving,  wanted  a  master ; 
and  he  looked  at  his  image  in  the  glass.  The  very 
fact  that  Sophia  had  chosen  to  marry  him  amounted 
to  a  guarantee  of  his  excellent  qualities  in  the 
minds  of  her  subjects  ;  and  he  was  quick  enough  to 
see  how  popular  he  was,  and  complacently  shallow 
enough  not  to  guess  at  the  grand  reason  for  his 
popularity.  He  was  eminently  possessed  of  the 
power  to  please,  and  when  he  found  himself  pleas- 
ing he  not  unnaturally  referred  it  to  his  own  power. 

A  further  cause  for  gratification  this  morning  lay 
in  the  fact  that  Sophia  had  been  so  willing  to  leave 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  79 

him  to  deal  with  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  alone. 
She  had  closed  with  his  offer  as  soon  as  it  had  been 
made,  and,  as  this  was  the  first  real  step  that  he 
had  taken  since  his  marriage  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  aims,  he  was  pleased  that  it  should  have  gone 
forward  without  a  stumble.  He  intended  to  use 
her  absence  to  take  several  more  steps  in  the  same 
direction. 

The  Assembly  of  Rhodope  is  peculiarly  consti- 
tuted. In  all  it  numbers  sixty  members,  of  whom 
two-thirds  enjoy  hereditary  seats,  and  one-third 
are  elected  by  vote  every  three  years.  But  there 
was  in  those  days  no  sharp  division  into  parties ; 
no  socialism  as  yet  masqueraded  in  the  streets 
under  the  very  penetrable  disguise  of  philanthropy  ; 
and  those  who  had  only  small  estates  of  their  own 
had  not  yet  begun  to  initiate  Bills  whereby  larger 
holders  should  be  deprived  of  their  lands.  On  the 
other  hand,  even  the  hereditary  voters  were  not  all 
of  blindly  Conservative  disposition,  and  the  general 
tendency  of  politics  was  to  be  mildly  progressive. 
The  Prime  Minister,  elected  by  the  House,  was 
the  President,  and  represented  the  monarch  in  his 
absence  ;  but  when  the  hereditary  Prince  or  Prin- 
cess was  present,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  body  of  the 
House.  The  Crown,  however,  possessed  the  power 
of  deposing  the  Prime  Minister  and  appointing  a 
new  one  at  discretion.  This  prerogative  had  not 
been  used  since  the  great  political  crisis  of  1793,  and 
was  generally  considered  obsolete.  But  it  had  never 
been  repealed,   and  nothing  stood  in  the  way  of 


8o  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

its  being  exercised  should  the  Sovereign  decide 
to  do  so. 

Princess  Sophia  left  on  the  first  of  August  in  the 
royal  yacht  Felatrune.  Her  departure  had  been 
made  somewhat  hurriedly,  and  she  had  given  but 
scanty  attention  to  the  discussion  of  the  manage- 
ment of  the  affairs  of  State  in  her  absence.  Prince 
Petros,  however,  insisted  that  he  should  be  given 
some  clear  notion  of  how  far  he  was  to  be  con- 
sidered Regent,  and  how  far  he  was  to  telegraph 
for  her  instructions.  He  had  made  a  copy  on  a 
sheet  of  foolscap  of  the  Bills  which  would  come 
before  the  House  before  it  broke  up  in  September, 
and  she  ran  her  eye  quickly  over  them. 

'  Tobacco,  potatoes — potatoes,  tobacco,'  she  said  ; 
'  there  is  nothing  there  that  I  cannot  leave  com- 
pletely to  you.  I  will  write  a  short  address  to  the 
House,  if  I  have  time,  in  which  I  nominate  you  as 
my  Regent,  and  Malakopf  will  read  it  out  to  them. 
Here,  I  will  do  it  now  ;  give  me  a  bit  of  paper.' 

Sophia  scribbled  some  half-dozen  lines,  signed 
them,  and  addressed  the  envelope  to  the  Prime 
Minister,  Malakopf. 

*  I  understand  that  I  am  to  take  your  place  in 
every  way,'  said  Petros,  to  whom  she  had  not  shown 
the  note. 

*  Yes,  I  have  said  that,'  said  Sophia.  '  Don't 
introduce  a  Bill  for  deposing  me,  you  know ;  and 
if  there  is  any  unexpected  crisis,  let  me  know  by 
telegraph.  Of  course  there  won't  be,  for  crises 
never   happen    in   Rhodope,    and    the    unexpected 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  81 

never  happens  anywhere.  I  have  complete  confi- 
dence in  you,  Petros.  And  don't  be  terribly  con- 
scientious ;  if  possible,  let  me  not  hear  a  word  of 
these  three-halfpenny  concerns  till  you  join  me.  I 
want  an  entire  holiday.' 

'  A  holiday  will  do  you  good,  dear  Sophia,'  said  he  ; 
'  I  am  afraid  the  heat  has  tired  you.  In  turn,  let 
me  ask  you  not  to  make  the  State  bankrupt  at 
Monte  Carlo.' 

*  It  wants  a  man  with  a  system  to  do  that,' 
laughed  Sophia. 

Petros  and  Leonard,  an  amazingly  sunny  infant, 
went  down  to  Mavromati  to  see  the  Princess  off, 
and  returned  together  to  Amandos  about  six  o'clock. 
Petros  did  not  care  for  children,  and  the  unconscious 
Leonard  merely  roused  in  him  a  sense  of  futile  envy 
at  the  thought  that  the  boy  would  some  day  be 
Prince  of  Rhodope,  not  merely  the  husband  of  its 
Princess.  The  Assembly  met  at  three  o'clock  next 
day,  and  he  spent  a  solitary  but  arduous  evening 
going  over  very  carefully  a  scheme  he  had  in  his 
mind.  He  was  naturally  a  cautious  man — a  man 
with  a  system,  as  Sophia  had  said,  but  occasionally 
he  would  embark  in  a  risky  concern.  His  invest- 
ments of  all  kinds,  whether  of  money  or  brains,  were 
either  very  safe  or  paid  an  enormous  percentage. 

The  Prime  Minister  at  this  time  was  a  man  named 
Malakopf,  originally  no  doubt  of  Russian  birth, 
whose  family  had  been  settled  in  Rhodope  for  many 
generations.  Russian  he  might  or  might  not  be ; 
Jew  he  certainly  was,  and  he  had  all  the  financial 


82  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

sagacity  of  that  remarkable  race.  His  probity, 
however,  stood  in  great  need  of  demonstration ; 
and  he  was  known  to  have  been  mixed  up  in  a 
very  lucrative  but  more  than  questionable  transac- 
tion, some  ten  years  before,  on  the  Vienna  Bourse. 
There  had  been  a  most  unpleasant  scene  on  this 
occasion  between  him  and  Prince  Demetrius,  who 
spoke  his  mind  with  singular  frankness,  and  Mala- 
kopf's  affection  for  the  reigning  House  of  Rhodope 
was  supposed  to  be  of  the  most  tepid  temperature, 

Sophia  detested  the  man  ;  with  her  habitual  force 
of  expression,  she  had  said  that  to  be  in  the  room 
with  him  was  like  having  tea  with  a  centipede  :  one 
never  knew  where  it  would  be  next,  and  the  prevalent 
impression  was  that  it  was  crawling  up  one's  back. 
But  Petros  from  the  first  had  made  much  of  him  ; 
he  had  often  told  his  wife  that  so  acute  a  financier 
was  a  goose  who  laid  golden  eggs  for  the  State.  It 
would  be  of  the  nature  of  suicide  to  strangle  any- 
thing so  intimately  connected  with  the  well-being 
of  the  principality.  He  might  be  like  a  centipede, 
socially  speaking,  if  she  would  have  it  so  ;  politically 
he  was  invaluable.  Besides,  he  was  a  man  with 
power  ;  he  could  be  a  dangerous  enemy,  and  it  was 
always  well  to  make  friends  with  people  who  might 
be  dangerous  enemies. 

Sophia's  nose  had  gone  in  the  air  at  this. 

'  My  family  is  not  accustomed  to  make  friends 
with  centipedes,'  she  had  said.  '  But,  of  course,  you 
can  do  as  you  please,  Petros.' 

To-day  Prince  Petros  sought  him  in  his  private 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  83 

room  off  one  of  the  lobbies  of  the  House.  He  was 
a  bent,  withered  little  man,  but  nimble  in  move- 
ment, and  there  was  a  shifty  brightness  in  his  eye. 
He  got  up  at  the  Prince's  entry,  and  bowed  low 
to  him, 

'  An  unexpected  pleasure,  your  Highness,'  he  said. 
'  Indeed,  I  was  told  that  Princess  Sophia  left  Mavro- 
mati  yesterday,  and  I  had  supposed  you  had  not  yet 
returned.  I  am  shamefully  ill-posted  in  the  news  of 
our  Court,  but  I  have  some  transactions  of  great 
moment  on  hand,  which  must  be  my  excuse.' 

Now  Malakopf  knew  that  Petros  had  returned  to 
Rhodope,  and  Petros  knew  that  he  knew  it.  Thus 
comment  was  needless. 

'  My  wife  left  yesterday,'  said  he,  '  but,  as  you 
see,  I  am  already  back  again.  The  Princess  was  in 
need  of  a  holiday.  State  affairs  ' — he  spoke  with 
slow  emphasis,  and  looked  Malakopf  full  in  the  face 
— '  State  affairs  have  tired  her  terribly  this  summer. 
She  has  been  head  over  ears  in  work.' 

No  shadow  of  a  smile  came  over  the  Prime  Min- 
ister's face. 

'  Indeed,  it  must  be  so,'  he  answered.  '  Never  a 
moment's  relaxation  or  amusement !  An  iron 
will !  ' 

But  Prince  Petros  was  satisfied ;  he  was  sure 
Malakopf  had  completely  understood  him. 

'  I  came  to  talk  to  you  on  an  important  matter,' 
said  the  Prince,  taking  a  seat.  '  Naturally,  my  wife 
and  I  could  not  both  be  absent  during  the  sitting  of 
the  House,  and  she  gave  me  to  understand  that  she 


84  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

was  sending  you  a  document,  which  she  wished  to 
be  communicated  to  the  Assembly,  conferring  on  me 
— so  I  took  her  meaning  to  be — powers  which  amount 
— which  really  amount— to  a  Regency  during  her 
absence.' 

Malakopf,  though  he  was  not  naturally  slow,  ap- 
peared to  take  some  moments  before  he  grasped 
what  the  Prince  had  said.  He  fixed  his  eye  on  the 
window  so  long,  without  stirring  a  muscle,  that  the 
Prince  spoke  again. 

'  No  doubt  you  have  seen  the  document,'  he  said, 
with  a  little  nervousness.  '  From  the  few  words  the 
Princess  let  fall  to  me  on  the  subject,  I  gathered — 
wrongly  perhaps — that  such  was  the  purport  of  it.' 
At  last  the  Prime  Minister  turned  briskly  in  his 
chair. 

'  That,  I  think,  we  may  consider  to  be  the  purport 
of  it,'  he  said.  '  And  I  don't  suppose  that  the 
Princess  Sophia  has  ever  taken  a  more  prudent  and 
far-sighted  determination.  Indeed,  it  might  be 
even  more  far-sighted  than  she  supposes.' 

The  Prince  knew  that  he  was,  so  to  speak,  skating 
on  ice  which  might  prove  to  be  thin.  Malakopf 
knew  it  equally  well,  and  he  applauded  inwardly 
and  derisively  the  other's  caution. 

'  You  flatter  me,'  said  the  Prince  ;  and  Malakopf 
silently  but  sincerely  agreed  with  him.  But  he  let 
no  palpable  pause  precede  his  answer. 

'  Flattery,'  he  said,  '  is  the  unwilling  tribute  of  a 
wise  man  to  his  inferior,  or  a  fool  to  his  superior. 
Dear  Prince,  how  can  I  flatter  you  ?     For  you  are 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  85 

our  beloved  Princess's  husband,  and  indeed  I  have 
some  glimmerings  of  sense.  But  let  us  approach 
the  point  with  more  particularity.  We  must  con- 
sider— must  we  not  ? — what  will  be  your  proper 
place  in  the  Assembly.  You  represent  the  Princess 
Sophia,  and  as  her  representative  you  take  the 
chair  whenever  you  are  present.  But  here  the  legal 
point  comes  in  :  you  have  no  seat — an  anomaly  as 
I  have  always  felt — in  the  Assembly  at  all.  How 
would  it  be,  then,  if  you  absented  yourself  to-day, 
and  that  I,  after  reading  the  Princess's  message, 
proposed  a  resolution  that  during  her  absence  you 
should  be,  ex  officio,  a  Member  of  the  House  ?  Then 
you  would  have  a  seat  there,  and  your  position 
after  that,  as  her  representative,  would  make  you 
President.'  He  paused  a  moment,  and  with  a  look 
amazingly  frank,  '  We  understand  each  other,  do 
we  not  ?  '  he  almost  whispered,  and  he  approached 
as  near  to  a  chuckle  as  his  prudence  allowed. 

'  You  are  admirably  lucid,'  said  Petros,  returning 
his  gaze. 

'  And  you,  too,'  thought  Malakopf  ;  but  he  did  not 
say  so,  and  ceased  chuckling. 

'  Let  us,  then,  act  thus,'  he  continued :  '  this 
afternoon  I  will  take  the  vote  of  the  House  on  the 
matter.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  for  me  to  send 
you  the  report,  for  there  can  be  only  one  conclusion. 
However,  by  six  o'clock  I  will  let  you  know  what 
has  happened,  for  the  matter  of  form  merely — an 
official  communication,  my  dear  Prince,  an  official 
communication.     Things  must  be  done  in  order.' 


86  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Prince  Petros  rose. 

'  Pray  let  me  ask  you,'  he  said,  '  to  throw  over 
your  other  engagements  to-night,  and  dine  with  me 
alone.  You  shall  tell  me  then  how  the  House  re- 
ceived the  proposal.' 

'  I  am  infinitely  honoured,'  said  Malakopf,  bow- 
ing again  ;   and  the  Prince  took  his  departure. 

Left  alone,  Malakopf  lit  a  cigarette,  but  instead 
of  attending  to  business,  seemed  lost  in  evil  medita- 
tion. At  length  he  drew  some  papers  towards  him, 
and  gave  one  ghost  of  a  laugh. 

'  There  is  a  depth  of  shallowness,'  he  said,  to  him- 
self, *  about  that  man,  which  to  my  frail  mind  is 
unplumbable.' 

Malakopf  dined  with  the  Prince  that  evening,  and 
before  they  went  in  to  dinner  made  the  most  favour- 
able report  on  the  way  that  his  proposition  had  been 
received  in  the  House. 

*  I  first  read  out  the  Princess  Sophia's  communica- 
tion,'  he   said.     '  It   was  known  that  Her  Royal 

Highness  had  left  for  Monte had  left  for  a  few 

visits  to  her  relations,  and  the  House  requested  me 
to  record  to  you  their  sympathy  with  the  Princess's 
reason  for  taking  a  holiday,  and  hoped  that  a  few 
weeks'  relaxation  would  recuperate  her.' 

'  I  will  convey  the  sympathy  of  the  House  to  her,' 
murmured  Prince  Petros. 

Malakopf  bowed. 

'  I  next  brought  forward  the  proposal  that  you 
should  be  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  House  in  the 
Princess's  absence.     It  was  carried,  of  course,  unani- 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  87 

mously — I  may  say  with  acclamation.  Indeed,  I 
have  never,'  said  he,  drawing  his  hand  over  his  chin 
— '  I  have  never  seen  so  great  an  enthusiasm  in  our 
House.' 

'  I  will  do  my  best  to  merit  the  honour  you  have 
conferred  on  me,'  said  the  Prince,  checking  his 
exultation. 

The  two  dined  alone,  but  with  great  state  and 
magnificence.  Both  men  wore  their  orders  ;  on  the 
sideboard  was  displayed  the  gold  plate  belonging  to 
the  Sovereign,  and  during  dinner  the  royal  band 
played  a  selection  of  ravishing  airs  from  the  gallery. 
The  Prime  Minister,  Petros  knew,  liked  magnificence, 
but  what  he  did  not  know  was  that  on  this  occasion 
he  saw  through  it.  Malakopf  was  something  of  a 
gourmand  and  much  of  a  gourmet.  He  ate  somewhat 
largely  and  very  intelligently.  The  turtle  soup  was 
excellent,  the  chaudfroid  of  quails  a  marvel  of  art  (he 
would  have  liked  to  congratulate  the  chef),  and  he 
nearly  wept  with  joy  over  the  haunch  of  roe-deer 
braised  d  la  Savarin.  Finally  the  bottle  of  Chateau 
Vryssi  (1832)  which  he  drank  with  his  dessert  was 
almost  an  awe  to  him.  He  was  near  to  feeling  a 
sense  of  unworthiness,  but  so  far  overcame  it  as  to 
be  able  to  drink  a  second  bottle. 

Petros  knew  well  the  Prime  Minister's  weakness 
for  fine  food,  and  thought  that  if  a  good  dinner 
would  not  earn  the  man's  gratitude,  and  so  indirectly 
his  help,  nothing  would.  In  this  he  was  right.  Had 
it  been  possible  for  Malakopf  to  feel  himself  under 
an  obligation  to  anybody,  he  would  have  been  dis- 


88  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

posed  to  fall  in  with  the  wishes  of  a  man  who  had 
fed  him  well.  But  the  ore  of  his  nature,  if  milled, 
would  have  been  found  to  contain  not  the  smallest 
assay  of  gratitude.  Not  only  had  Nature  not  com- 
pounded him  with  a  grain  of  it,  but  in  the  mixing  she 
had  used  a  clean  spoon,  one  which  had  never  had 
gratitude  measured  in  it ;  he  was  wholly  incapable 
of  such  a  feeling.  All  he  knew  was  that  he  would 
certainly  dine  with  the  Prince  as  often  as  he  was 
invited — even  indicate,  ever  so  lightly,  that  he  was 
ready  to  come  again. 

Dinner  over,  the  two  sat  in  the  south  veranda, 
where  they  drank  coffee  and  smoked.  Malakopf, 
habitually  cautious,  was  perhaps  moved  to  an  un- 
wonted boldness  by  that  noble  grape  of  which  he 
had  drunk  so  freely  ;  but  after  he  had  unloosed  his 
tongue  to  speak  the  first  words  on  the  subject  which 
was  in  the  minds  of  both  of  them,  he  knew  he  had 
done  right,  and  that  the  Prince  would  be  a  tool  in 
his  hands. 

'  It  is  a  thousand  pities,'  he  said,  '  that  the  Prin- 
cess is  so  delicate.  With  all  my  loyalty,  all  my 
unwavering  devotion  to  our  royal  line,  of  which  I 
need  not  remind  you,  I  have  sometimes  nearly 
caught  myself  wishing  that  Prince  Demetrius  had 
had  a  son,  a  man  of  iron  like  himself,  who  was 
equal  to  the  strain  and  stress  of  State  affairs.  The 
Princess — God  bless  her  ! — has  often  reminded  me 
of  that  fable  of  the  sword  which  was  worn  out  by  use 
— she  will  not  abide  in  the  scabbard.  Indeed,  how 
you  persuaded  her  to  take  this  little  holiday,  my 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  89 

dear  Prince  Petros,  I  cannot  conceive — a  miracle  of 
successful  diplomacy.' 

'  We  must  encourage  her  to  be  put  in  the  scabbard 
sometimes,'  said  the  Prince  ;  '  and,  indeed,  she  felt 
herself  tired  out ;  it  required  but  little  persuasion 
on  my  part  to  make  her  go.  Her  weakness,  not  my 
strength,  was  the  giver  of  my  little  victory.' 
Malakopf  shook  his  head. 

'  You  underrate  your  powers,  Prince  Petros,'  he 
said.  '  It  was  always  the  same  with  the  Princess  ; 
she  is  all  zeal  for  whatever  she  has  in  hand.  I  have 
even  seen  her  once  or  twice  here  in  the  palace  play- 
ing some  trivial  game  at  the  cards  with  the  ardour — 
all  the  ardour,  so  I  thought — with  which  she  follows 
our  debates.  And  with  what  act !  You  would 
have  thought  she  really  cared  for  the  romances  of 
the  little  pasteboard  pieces  in  which  her  guests  of 
less  sterling  fibre  found  their  amusement.  She  plays 
still,  I  believe  ?  ' 

Prince  Petros  had  not  the  patience  to  continue 
this  elaborate  farce.  Malakopf  had  fully  intended 
that  the  first  step  of  importance  should  be  taken  by 
the  other,  and  the  wraith  of  a  smile  hovered  round 
his  mouth  as  Petros  spoke  again. 

'  She  plays  still,  as  you  say,'  he  replied  ;  '  and,  as 
you  know,  she  has  gone  to  Monte  Carlo,  and  her 
royal  relations  are  the  tables.  The  affairs  of  the 
State,  as  you  also  know,  are  nothing  to  her.  I  fully 
believe,  though,  that  if  she  had  stopped  here  she 
would  have  suffered  in  health  through  pure  bore- 
dom.    But  that  which  is  so  insignificant  to  her  is 


90  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

very  dear  to  me.     I  want  to  see  Rhodop6  a  great 
power,  and  no  buffer  State.     I  want ' 

He  stopped  abruptly,   got  out  of  his  seat,  and 
began  walking  up  and  down. 

'  Your  Highness  wants ?  '  suggested  Malakopf, 

insinuatingly,  and  as  softly  as  a  thought. 

'  I  want  Rhodope  to  be  a  nation,'  broke  out  the 
Prince.  '  Look  at  our  material !  '  ('  Already  he 
says  "  our,"  '  thought  Malakopf.)  '  Did  you  ever 
see  finer  men  than  these  troops  ?  Look  at  our 
coast,  and  show  me  the  fleet  that  could  effect  a 
landing.  Have  you  seen  Gibraltar  ?  You  have 
seen  Bulteck,  and  that  is  two  Gibraltars  !  Look  at 
our  boundaries  !  Whose  is  the  army  that  could 
invade  Rhodope  ?  England  herself  is  not  more 
definitely  marked  out  by  Nature  to  be  a  great  power 
than  we.  We  are  of  one  race  with  the  Albanian, 
the  flower  of  the  Greek  as  well  as  the  Turkish  troops 
— completely  careless  of  death,  and  with  no  thought 
but  their  country.  Once  set  me  in  a  great  position 
here,  and  you  shall  see  what  I  will  make  of  Rhodope. 
If  I  were  the  humblest  Member  of  the  Chamber  I 
could  act,  but  now  I  am  bound  with  chains  of  lead. 
My  hands  are  tied  ;  I  can  do  nothing  ;  and  my  wife 
spends  her  money  and  her  time  and  her  thoughts 
at  Monte  Carlo.  I  am  no  more  than  the  lacquey 
who  stands  in  her  ante-chamber — less  even,  for  he 
is  useful  in  his  way  ;  I  alone  am  a  cipher.  Oh, 
Malakopf,  it  is  pitiable,  man— it  is  pitiable  !  ' 

The  Prince  stood  before  him,  his  hands  opened 
out  by  his  side,  his  handsome  mobile  face  suffused 


ENTER  THE  CENTIPEDE.  91 

with  excitement.  Malakopf  put  one  leg  over  the 
other,  and  suppressed  a  sigh  of  content.  He  had 
not  dared  to  hope  for  speaking  so  plain  as  this. 
There  was  no  need  for  any  more  diplomatic  dancing. 

'  Yet  you  have  obtained  one  step  to-day,'  he  said  ; 
*  you  have  a  seat  in  the  House.  That  may  well  be 
considered — how  do  you  say  it  ? — the  thin  end  of 
the  wedge.' 

'  Yes,  and  when  my  wife  returns  out  comes  the 
wedge,'  replied  the  Prince.  '  And  out  come  I.  Oh, 
Lord  !  ' 

'  Not  necess  rily,'  said  the  Prime  Minister. 

The  Prince  sat  down. 

'  Explain  yourself ;   I  do  not  understand,'  he  said. 

Malakopf  flicked  the  ash  off  his  cigar.  He  was  so 
completely  mas  er  of  the  situation,  that  he  did  not 
intend  to  be  hurried. 

'  It  is  true  that  your  seat  is  only  temporary  at 
present,'  he  said  ;  '  but  one  way  and  another,  dear 
Prince  Petros,  I  have  managed  to  become  a  some- 
what influential  person  in  the  State ' 

'  So  I  always  tell  my  wife,'  said  the  Prince  with 
extraordinary  unwisdom,  thinking  to  please  the 
centipede. 

'  I  am  infinitely  grateful  for  your  good  word,' 
replied  the  other.  '  But  I  did  not  mean  that  I  had 
any  influence  in  the  eyes  of  the  Princess — and,  to 
speak  to  you  with  a  frankness  that  will  nearly  equal 
your  own,  I  do  not  care  to  have.  But  with  my 
considerable  wealth,  and  the  extent  of  my  estate, 
not  to  mention  a  certain  personal  influence  I  have 


92  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

with  a  large  party  in  the  Assembly — an  influence 
which  it  would  be  false  modesty  in  me  to  underrate, 
I  could,  I  think,  manage  to  secure  you  a  permanent 
seat.' 

'  Take  another  cigar,'  said  the  Prince.  '  Will  you 
do  this  for  me  ?  ' 

Malakopf  smiled.  The  juxtaposition  of  the  offer 
of  a  cigar  and  this  request  suggested,  fantastically 
enough,  a  bribe. 

'  I  do  not  say  it  would  be  easy  to  manage,'  he 
replied.  '  It  might  be  a  troublesome  affair,  and,  to 
sj^eak  plainly  ' — here  he  laid  his  hand  on  the  Prince's 
knee,  and  looked  him  suddenly  in  the  face — '  what 
am  I  to  get  by  it  ?  ' 

'  Yet  you  said  this  afternoon  that  my  not  having 
a  seat  in  the  Senate  was  an  anomaly.' 

'  I  endorse  what  I  said.  But  is  it  expedient  for 
me  personally  to  attempt  to  do  away  with  that 
anomaly  ?  ' 

'  I  will  make  it  worth  your  while,'  said  the  Prince 
in  a  low  voice. 

'  That  is  enough,  my  dear  Prince,'  he  said. 

'  Here  is  a  light  for  you,'  said  Prince  Petros  ; 
and  his  hand  shook  as  he  held  the  match  in  the  wind- 
less air. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   NEW   MEMBER. 

When  Malakopf  went  home  that  night,  he  came 
near  to  being  a  victim  of  exultation.  That  delight- 
ful emotion  he  always  eschewed,  for  he  considered 
it  a  dangerous  feeling,  one  that  blunts  the  per- 
ception, deadens  acumen,  and  has  no  practical 
significance.  Indeed,  the  greatest  extravagance  in 
this  way  that  he  usually  allowed  himself  on  the 
conclusion  of  some  very  successful  bargain  was  a 
pleased  contempt  at  the  contemplation  of  wits  in- 
ferior to  his  own,  and  a  disdainful  indifference, 
amounting  sometimes  to  dislike,  to  those  who  had 
been  his  tools  or  his  unfortunate  adversaries.  But 
to-night  he  was  strangely  moved  ;  perhaps  he  was 
even  a  little  dazzled  at  the  greatness  of  the  stake 
for  which  he  was  playing,  perhaps  he  was  only 
much  pleased  and  surprised  at  the  aptness  of  the 
tool  which  Providence — he  made  no  doubt  it  was 
Providence,  which  always  looks  after  those  who 
look  after  themselves — had  so  kindly  put  in  his 
hand.  Like  the  Prince  himself,  he  too  was  writing 
a  private  little  drama  of  much  the  same  nature, 
the  chief  difference  being  that  while  the  Prince's 


94  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

play  was  entitled  '  The  Emperor  of  the  East,' 
Malakopf's  was  more  modestly  called  '  The  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic'  Another  variation  between 
the  two  is  perhaps  worth  recording  :  in  the  Prince's 
production  there  was  a  minor  character,  a  sort  of 
gentleman-in-waiting,  called  Malakopf  (Count  Mala- 
kopf,  perhaps),  whereas  in  his  '  President  of  the 
Republic  '  no  mention  was  made  of  any  Petros, 
Prince  or  otherwise. 

But  as  a  tool  Petros  seemed  admirable  ;  he  was 
sharp,  and  could  be  thrown  away  when  done  with. 
His  relation  to  the  Princess  would  put  him,  in  the 
minds  of  all  loyal  people — and  Malakopf  valued 
loyalty  in  others — beyond  the  reach  of  suspicion. 
For  what  could  be  more  suitable,  or  more  gratifying 
to  the  folk  of  Rhodope,  than  to  see  the  husband  of 
their  beloved  Princess,  that  accomplished  rider,  that 
finished  squire  of  dames,  so  identifying  himself  with 
the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  ?  Furthermore,  there 
was  a  vast  deal  of  underground  work  which  would 
probably  have  to  be  done,  and  if  there  was  one 
thing  more  than  another  in  which  the  busy  brain  of 
Malakopf  delighted,  it  was  to  make  himself  a  mole,  a 
delver  in  the  dark,  and  spring  his  castles  on  the 
foolish  grazing  cattle  where  they  were  least  sus- 
pected. The  Chateau  Vryssi  (1832)  was  less  sweet, 
though  dryer,  than  the  vintage  of  his  thoughts. 

Prince  Petros  was,  in  a  way,  wise  to  trust  the  plan 
and  execution  of  his  conspiracy — for  so  we  may 
already  call  it — to  Malakopf.  He  himself,  at  any 
rate,  had  neither  the  courage,  the  caution,  nor  the 


THE  NEW  MEMBER.  95 

constructive  ability  which  could  warrant  any  decent 
chance  of  success.  He  was  cunning,  no  more,  and 
cunning  is  but  a  pin-point  to  go  a-fighting  with. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  was  irredeemably  foolish  to 
trust  Malakopf  further  than  he  could  see  him,  and 
he  could  not  see  far.  Thus,  he  was  like  to  fall 
between  two  stools,  an  inexcusable  and  an  un- 
dignified position,  which  ends  on  the  floor. 

As  for  Malakopf,  that  astute  politician  had  as 
usual  several  strings  to  his  bow.  His  scheme,  as  he 
had  planned  it,  could  scarcely  fail  altogether  of 
success.  The  target  at  which  he  aimed  was  a  long 
and  hazardous  shot,  being,  indeed,  no  less  than  the 
overthrow  of  the  dynasty,  the  establishment  of  a 
republic  in  Rhodope,  and  the  establishment  of  him- 
self as  President  of  the  same.  He  had,  as  he  had 
told  Prince  Petros,  a  considerable  influence  in  the 
State.  For  some  years  past,  under  different  names, 
he  had  invested  immense  sums  in  Government  stock, 
and  if  at  any  moment  he  chose  to  throw  his  shares 
on  the  market,  he  could  not  only  discredit  the 
National  Bank  in  the  eyes  of  Europe,  but  he  would 
also  seriously  cripple  the  State  itself.  Again,  under 
an  alias,  he  had  driven  a  flourishing  money-lending 
trade  in  Amandos,  and  many  of  the  Members  of  the 
Assembly  were  seriously  in  his  debt.  Thirdly,  his 
vast  estates  in  the  country  gave  employment  to  a 
large  body  of  the  electorate,  and  he  could,  so  he 
supposed,  command  when  necessary  a  great  number 
of  votes. 

But  it  was  characteristic  of  the  man  that  he  was 


96  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

preparing  at  first  to  use  a  slower  and  more  devilish 
method  of  magnifying  himself  to  the  detriment  of 
the  reigning  family.  He  had  on  the  tip  of  his 
poisonous  tongue  all  the  clap-trap  of  socialism,  and 
he  had,  what  is  almost  as  important,  a  real  acquaint- 
ance with  the  spirit  of  their  demands.  The  scheme 
proposed  by  the  absurd  catchword  of  '  three  acres 
and  a  cow  '  contained  its  residuum  of  truth,  and  if 
so  enticing  a  phrase  was  not  sufficient,  he  could 
justify  it  to  willing  ears.  Princess  Sophia  was,  as 
he  knew,  an  unrivalled  Aunt  Sally  for  such  random 
weapons  ;  her  extravagance,  her  Parisian  toilettes, 
her  magnificent  jewels,  her  nights  spent  in  ruinous 
card-playing,  were  all  texts  ready  for  the  ranter. 
He  did  not  intend  to  do  the  ranting  himself,  that 
should  be  for  those  whom  he  controlled  ;  he,  the 
Prime  Minister,  with  quivering  lip,  but  firm  of  pur- 
pose, would  sit  in  his  exalted  place  on  the  Assembly 
and  find  himself  unable  to  answer  such  damnation 
of  criticism.  The  Budget  was  the  instrument  on 
which  he  greatly  relied.  A  little  judicious  arrange- 
ment, the  money  spent  in  outdoor  relief  prominently 
contrasted  with  the  civil  list  of  the  Princess,  could 
not  fail  to  tell. 

These  were  the  methods  by  which  he  had  long 
planned  to  make  an  attack  on  the  reigning  house, 
and  they  still  seemed  to  him  trustworthy.  But  he 
realized  that  this  new  ally,  in  the  shape  of  the 
Prince,  might  open  to  him  other  and  directer  roads. 
In  any  case,  it  was  a  sound  policy  to  put  this  man  of 
straw  in  the  place  which  the  Princess  Sophia,  who 


THE  NEW  MEMBER.  97 

was  undeniably  flesh  and  blood,  occupied  in  the 
Assembly.  If  once  he  could  be  completely  installed 
there,  it  was  comparatively  easy  to  turn  him  out, 
leaving,  so  he  hoped,  a  vacancy  in  the  President's 
chair.  But  such  a  delectable  conclusion,  he  re- 
alized, must  be  largely  a  matter  of  luck.  He  was 
merely  prepared  to  take  a  chance,  if  it  came  in  his 
way. 

But  the  man,  with  all  his  burning  audacity,  was 
yet  cautious.  Personally,  supposing  no  great  stroke 
of  luck  occurred  and  he  had  to  follow  his  slower 
methods,  he  gave  the  dynasty  four  years  ;  by  that 
time  his  unholy  leaven  would  have  worked.  He 
would  instruct  the  ignorant  in  the  ways  of  Court 
life,  he  would  water  their  growing  knowledge  with 
disgust,  he  would  evolve  a  strongly  socialistic  class 
out  of  ignorant  content.  Then,  and  not  till  then, 
would  he  clench  the  matter  by  the  withdrawal  of 
his  stock,  threatening  letters  to  his  debtors,  and 
plain  speaking  to  the  electorate  which  he  com- 
manded. 

Prince  Petros's  scheme  was  far  different,  and  in- 
finitely less  sagacious.  He  would  get  his  permanent 
seat  in  the  Assembly  ;  he  would,  during  one  of 
Sophia's  absences,  get  himself  trusted  by  the  anti- 
dynastic  party  which  it  should  be  Malakopf's 
business  to  form.  He  would  be  a  model  of  sedulous 
industry  in  his  attendances  at  the  House,  reaping  a 
harvest  of  golden  opinions  from  the  legislators,  and 
at  the  end  down  would  come  in  full  spate  from 
the  mountains  of  moral  indignation  his  torrent  of 

4 


98  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

broken-hearted  eloquence.  The  revenues  of  the 
State  had  been  squandered  for  years  past — he  ad- 
mitted and  deplored  it ;  their  Sovereign  was  at 
Monte  Carlo — the  time  was  come  when  these  things 
could  not  be  borne  in  silence — wasting  her  moneys 
there.  Her  child — his  child — had  been  initiated  by 
her  into  the  mysteries  of  a  game  which  he  was  told 
was  called  baccarat.  He  was  here  to  tell  them  that 
he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Assembly,  for  he  was  in 
a  false  position.  He  did  not  represent  one  whom  he 
was  nominally  there  to  represent ;  he  represented 
plain  living  and  high  thinking,  his  position  was 
therefore  false,  and  to  be  in  a  false  position  was 
more  than  he  could  bear.  Overcome  by  his  emo- 
tion, torn  by  conflicting  affection,  he  would  sit 
down  ;  a  murmur,  carefully  prepared  by  his  poor 
friend  the  Prime  Minister,  would  swell  up  round 
him.  Then,  recovering  himself  with  an  effort,  he 
would  get  up  to  leave  the  House  ;  the  House  would 
rise  to  their  feet ;  a  voice  would  say,  '  Stay,  do 
not  go  '  ;  the  chorus  would  be  taken  up  ;  and 
next  day  he  would  write  a  polite  letter  to  Sophia, 
saying  that  he  had  been  elected  Prince  of  Rhodope 
by  the  Assembly,  while  she  had  become  the  Princess 
Sophia,  wife  of  the  Prince  of  Rhodope. 

Such  was  the  roughly-sketched  outline  of  their 
schemes  as  conceived  by  the  two  conspirators.  The 
working  of  the  plot,  as  has  been  mentioned,  was 
entrusted  to  Malakopf,  the  Prince's  part  being  con- 
fined to  an  industrious  attendance  on  public  business 
until  their  sowing  had  ripened.     Up  to  this  point. 


THE  NEW  MEMBER.  99 

at  any  rate,  the  plans  of  each  pulled  with  the  other  ; 
at  that  point  they  parted.  Malakopf  had  no  inten- 
tion of  letting  the  Prince  make  his  pathetic  speech 
in  the  House,  or  of  himself  organizing  any  sympa- 
thetic murmurs,  and  the  Prince  had  no  intention  of 
seeing  any  official  but  himself  supreme  in  Rhodope. 
The  throne  was  to  be  for  him  and  his  children  after 
him.  He  was  unwise  enough  to  give  Malakopf  a 
sketch  of  what  he  had  designed  the  progress  of 
affairs  to  be,  and  the  other  had  smilingly  acquiesced, 
saying  it  was  singular  how  completely  identical  the 
Prince's  forecast  was  with  his  own.  And  Petros 
turned  aside,  and  thought  to  himself,  '  Poor  dear 
old  Malakopf !  ' 

The  business  of  securing  the  Prince  a  permanent 
seat  in  the  Assembly  was  carried  through  the  next 
week,  but  not  without  some  little  opposition.  The 
suggestion  of  the  Princess  that  her  husband  should 
take  per  place  in  her  absence  had  been  received  with 
unanimous  cordiality  as  coming  from  her,  but  this 
further  step  was  not  understood  to  have  been 
initiated  where  the  first  had  been,  and  there  were 
those  who  opposed.  But  this  opposition  fully  suited 
Malakopf's  hand  ;  he  did  not  wish  Prince  Petros  to 
think  that  the  matter  was  easily  accomplished.  The 
more  he  felt  himself  indebted  to  the  Prime  Minister, 
the  better  ;  he  would  be  thus  less  likely  to  take  in- 
cautious steps  on  his  own  initiative,  for  Malakopf 
was  fully  alive  to  the  danger  of  Petros  making  a 
false  move,  and  thus  involving  the  plans  of  both  in 
complete  ruin. 


lOo  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

But  the  thing  was  carried  through,  and  Prince 
Petros,  who  had  gracefully  absented  himself  from 
the  sitting  in  which  it  was  to  come  under  discussion, 
was  informed  of  the  success  of  the  motion  in  a  letter 
from  the  Prime  Minister,  who  was  again  to  dine 
with  him  that  evening.  Malakopf  suggested  that 
he  should  at  once  tell  Sophia  what  had  happened, 
since  it  was  always  wise  to  be  frank  about  matters 
which  it  was  impossible  to  conceal,  and  that  he 
should  take  his  seat  next  day  or  as  soon  as  he 
received  a  favourable  reply  from  her. 

The  Prince  at  once  telegraphed  in  private  cipher 
to  his  wife,  and  was  pleased  to  get  the  following 
answer  before  Malakopf  arrived  that  evening  : 

'  Am  charmed  to  hear  it.  You  can  take  a  great 
deal  off  my  hands,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  do  the 
work  well.  Shall  stay  at  Monte  Carlo  till  further 
notice,  since  there  is  no  longer  any  need  of  me  at 
Rhodope.     Have  lost  heaps  of  money. — Sophia.' 

This  was  entirely  satisfactory,  and  Malakopf,  to 
whom  he  read  the  telegram,  thought  so  too.  The 
clause  '  Since  there  is  no  longer  any  need  of  me 
at  Rhodope '  seemed  to  both  a  word  of  good  omen. 
The  last  sentence  also  quite  delighted  the  Prime 
Minister. 

'  From  what  you  know  of  the  Princess,'  he  said, 
'  do  you  imagine  that  her  losses  will  tend  to  make 
her  come  away  the  sooner  ?  " 

'  It   will  be   a  reason  the  more,   if  reason  was 


THE  NEW  MEMBER.  loi 

wanted,'  said  Petros,  '  for  making  her  remain.  Oh, 
I  know  her  as  I  know  my  gloves. ' 

'  So  I  hoped.  And  if  she  loses  more — if  she  loses 
all  the  money  she  has  in  hand,  would  she  bor- 
row ? ' 

'  Of  whom  ?  ' 

Malakopf  paused.  He  was  not  sure  that  he  was 
not  talking  with  a  risk.  But  he  decided  to  chance 
it,  as  he  had  the  highest  opinion  of  the  idiocy  of  his 
fellow-conspirator. 

'  Of  me,  for  choice,'  he  said  at  length. 

Prince  Petros  flushed  ;   he  did  not  quite  like  this. 

'  Her  Royal  Highness  would  probably  apply  to 
her  husband,'  he  said  stiffly,  '  if  she  was  in  want  of 
money.' 

'  And  would  you  lend  it  her  ?  ' 

'  Certainly  not.  I  should  request  her  to  come 
home.' 

'  Then  you  would  be  acting  unwisely,'  said  Mala- 
kopf, knowing  he  had  done  right  to  open  this  point. 
'  Do  you  not  see  that  the  more  hopelessly  she 
beggars  herself,  and  the  more  deeply  she  gets  into 
debt  to  someone,  you  or  another,  by  so  much  the 
more  are  our  plans  advanced  ?  If  we  are  to  over- 
throw the  dynasty — dethrone  the  Princess  Sophia, 
I  mean — she  must  meet  us  half-way  ;  she  must  run 
to  meet  her  ruin.' 

'  I  am  sure  she  would  not  apply  to  you  for 
money,'  said  Petros — '  not  directly,  at  least.' 

'  Indirectly,  perhaps,'  suggested  Malakopf. 

'  You  mean  through  me  ?  ' 


102  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  This  is  what  I  mean,'  said  the  Prime  Minister, 
bridling  his  irritation  at  the  comparative  slowness  of 
the  man  :  '  How  would  it  be  if,  when  she  applied 
to  you  for  money,  you  borrowed  it  of  me  ?  Does  not 
the  idea  strike  you  as  sound  ?  You  would  in  the 
Assembly  acknowledge  your  indebtedness  to  me, 
but,  as  you  so  finely  sketched,  in  pathetic  degrees 
it  would  be  drawn  from  you  how  the  debt  was  in- 
curred, to  shield  whom  from  European  exposure. 
For,  indeed,  not  even  the  loyalty  of  Rhodope  would 
stand  their  Princess  being  notorious  for  not  paying 
her  gambling  debts.  My  suggestion  seems  to  me 
a  double-edged  weapon.  It  would  cut  against  the 
Princess  ;  it  would  move  pity  and  compassion  for 
you.' 

'  I  think  you  are  right,'  said  the  Prince  reluct- 
antly. 

'  And  I  know  I  am  right,'  thought  Malakopf,  who 
saw  in  this  little  scheme  a  hold  not  so  much  over 
Sophia — she  would  be  easily  managed— but  over 
Prince  Petros. 

The  Prince  was  formally  installed  in  the  Assembly 
next  day.  As  Regent  he  occupied  Sophia's  place, 
but  his  permanent  seat  when  taking  part  in  the 
debates  was  with  the  other  Ministers  in  the  body  of 
the  House.  He  was  well  received,  even,  he  thought, 
enthusiastically — for  applause  sounds  loud  in  the 
ears  of  its  recipient — and  he  made  a  speech  which 
he  thought  excellently  telling,  as  it  would  sound 
loyal  to  the  loyal,  and  to  any  who  might  not  be 
blind    to    his    wife's    edifying    absences    from    the 


THE  NEW  MEMBER.  103 

Assembly  a  hint  that  even  her  husband  deplored 
her  conduct. 

'  It  has  been  my  lot  during  the  last  fortnight,'  he 
said,  '  to  have  received  two  very  great  honours  at 
the  hand  of  this  august  Assembly.  Last  week  only 
I  was  admitted  to  the  House  to  act  as  Regent  for 
Her  Royal  Highness  my  beloved  wife.  That 
moment  was  very  sweet  to  me,  for  it  showed  me 
in  how  loyal  an  esteem  you  held  her,  in  adopting 
her  suggestion  that  I  should  during  her  absence 
do  my  very  humble  best  to  fill  her  place.  I  am 
unable  to  tell  you  how  unworthy  I  felt  myself, 
how  incapable  of  following  her  steps,  of  acquainting 
myself  with  the  infinite  details  of  procedure  which 
she  knows  so  well,  but  I  do  not  think  that  any  man 
can  ever  have  made  a  stronger  determination  to 
do  all  that  in  him  lies  than  I.  To-day  the  honour 
you  have  done  me  is  more  personal.  My  lords  and 
gentlemen,  I  think  you  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  for  it.  I  am  comparatively  a  stranger  among 
you,  but  you  have  treated  me  as  a  friend.  You  have 
made  me  one  of  yourselves,  and  I  too,  with  you, 
have  my  part  in  the  glorious  responsibility  of 
furthering  the  interests  of  this  realm  of  Rhodope. 
The  Princess  Sophia  has  telegraphed  to  me  her 
warm  approval  of  this  step.  She  will  thus  be  able, 
she  said,  to  take  a  few  more  weeks  of  that  holiday 
she  so  much  needs.  Gentlemen,  I  thank  you — I 
thank  you  ;  I  can  say  no  more.'  And  the  Prince's 
voice  choked  with  emotion,  and  he  sat  down. 

For  the  next  week  he  was  a  pattern  of  sedulous 


104  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

attention  to  public  affairs.  He  spoke  on  the 
Criminal  Law  Amendment  Act  with  marked  ability, 
and  the  Rhodope  Courier  referred  to  his  speech  as 
a  locus  classicus  on  the  psychology  of  crime.  His 
short  contribution  to  the  debate  on  the  Hares 
and  Woodcock  Bill  was  masterly.  In  this  he 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  landlord  against  the 
tenant.  What  was  not  put  into  the  ground  by  the 
tenant  clearly  belonged  to  the  landlord,  and  to 
repeal  any  portions  of  the  Game  Laws  of  1852,  as 
had  been  suggested,  was  surely  a  short-sighted 
policy.  To  abolish  the  close  time,  to  abolish  the 
necessity  for  licenses  to  kill  game,  was  to  extermi- 
nate it.  What  had  been  the  result  of  the  repeal  in 
Greece,  a  country  once  as  rich  in  game  as  theirs  ? 
Was  not  the  whole  of  the  Peloponnese  desert  of  wild 
animals  ?  On  the  question  of  tobacco-growing  he 
showed  himself  equally  conversant  with  the  salient 
points  of  the  dispute.  He  had  naturally  a  fine 
delivery,  and  his  voice  was  a  marvel  of  tone  and 
clearness.  He  never  hesitated  for  a  word ;  he 
never  hurried.  He  was  in  his  seat  at  the  opening 
of  the  debates  ;  he  never  left  until  the  end.  He  was 
always  courteous,  obliging,  and  encouraging,  and, 
like  the  speeches  of  all  great  statesmen,  his  remarks 
were  distinguished  by  a  keen  grasp  of  the  obvious. 

Malakopf  watched  his  entry  into  this  public  life 
with  amusement  and  satisfaction.  No  tool  could 
have  been  more  apt,  and  the  work  he  turned  out 
was  excellent.  At  present  the  growing  popularity 
of  the  Prince  was  exactly  what  he  wished  to  see. 


THE  NEW  MEMBER.  105 

The  more  he  shone  in  State  matters,  the  dimmer 
would  become  the  light  of  the  Princess.  When 
the  one  had  reached  its  necessary  brilliance,  and 
the  other  suitably  declined,  he  would  again  inter- 
vene. In  the  meantime,  the  Prince  gave  him  im- 
peccable dinners,  priceless  wines,  and  conversation 
that  was  positively  interesting  owing  to  its  extreme 
naivete. 

Princess  Sophia,  while  the  moles  were  at  work 
under  the  feet  of  her  throne,  had  much  enjoyed 
herself  at  Monte  Carlo.  During  the  early  days 
there  she  had  been  the  victim  of  a  run  of  extreme 
ill-luck,  but  the  second  half  of  August  saw  her 
more  than  quits.  She  had  begun  her  httle  outing 
with  unwonted  soberness,  never  staking  on  one 
number,  often  backing  a  dozen,  and  occasionally 
even  so  far  demeaning  herself  as  to  bet  by  the  hour 
on  the  colour.  On  this  ignoble  plan  she  had  lost 
with  great  regularity,  and,  as  her  stakes  were  usu- 
ally high,  with  fair  rapidity.  She  became  dis- 
gusted, almost  bored,  and  returned  with  ardour 
to  her  more  hazardous  procedure.  The  fickle  god- 
dess was  charmed  at  the  recantation  of  the  heresies 
which  could  never  have  been  permanent,  and  had 
looked  on  her  with  peculiar  favour,  and  thus  it 
came  about  that  in  the  third  week  in  September, 
even  before  the  House,  which  the  fine  example  of 
Petros  had  rendered  even  more  conscientious  and 
industrious  than  usual,  had  risen,  she  announced 
by  telegram  her  earlier  return,  and  the  return  of 
forty  thousand  napoleons. 


io6  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Petros  went  down  'to  Mavromati  to  meet  the 
Felatrune,  and  she  seemed  pleased  and  a  Httle  sur- 
prised to  see  him. 

'  I  should  have  thought  your  duties  in  the  Assem- 
bly would  not  have  allowed  you  leisure  to  come,' 
she  said.  Then,  suddenly  laying  her  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  '  How  you  have  grown,  Petros !  '  she 
said  ;  and  it  seemed  to  Petros  that  she  was  in  the 
mood  to  be  amused,  for  she  laughed  at  her  own 
remark,  which  seemed  to  him  so  void  of  point  that 
he  did  not  even  remember  to  repeat  it  to  Malakopf, 
who  would  probably  not  have  been  amused  at  all. 


CHAPTER    VIL 

THE   princess's   CLUB. 

Princess  Sophia,  on  her  return  to  Amandos,  found 
the  affairs  of  State  more  irksome,  if  possible,  than 
ever.  The  innumerable  petty  businesses  to  which 
she  had  to  give  her  attention  seemed  more  than 
usually  futile  to  her,  and  there  was  no  table  handy 
where,  after  a  day  of  unutterably  Wearisome  routine, 
she  could  forget  the  Mayor  and  the  wife  of  the 
Mayor,  and  the  potatoes  and  tobacco,  in  the  en- 
chanting uncertainties  of  roulette.  Prince  Petros, 
at  her  request,  relieved  her  during  the  day  of  a 
large  part  of  her  duties  ;  but  in  the  evening,  when 
she  would  have  been  glad  to  get  a  game  of  bezique 
even  with  him — for  his  card-playing  had  strangely 
gone  off  of  late — there  was  often  some  committee 
at  which,  so  he  assured  her,  the  presence  of  one 
of  them  was  necessary. 

It  had  more  than  once  seemed  to  her  that  this 
recurrence  of  committees  was  waxing  more  fre- 
quent than  under  her  father,  and  she  noted  the 
circumstance  as  a  curious  one.  There  seemed, 
even  now  that  the  House  had  risen,  an  intermin- 
able deal  of  business  to  be  transacted,  and  it  was 


io8  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

more  often  than  not  that  Malakopf  Was  closeted 
with  the  Prince  for  an  hour  or  two  after  dinner. 
Again  and  again  it  happened  that  she  and  her  hus- 
band would  have  just  sat  down  to  a  game,  when  it 
jA'as  announced  that  the  Prime  Minister  was  below, 
and  wished  to  consult  the  Princess  on  a  matter  of 
urgent  importance.  On  such  occasions  she  always 
asked  Petros  to  represent  her,  since  she  really 
could  not  face  Malakopf,  and  he  obeyed  with  cheer- 
ful alacrity. 

It  was  during  one  of  these  interviews — a  tire- 
some after-dinner  interruption — when  the  Princess 
was  left  yawning  to  herself  in  the  drawing-room, 
that  an  idea  occurred  to  her,  so  simple  in  itself, 
and  so  easy  of  execution,  that  she  was  lost  in  aston- 
ishment at  her  own  stupidity  that  she  had  not 
thought  of  it  before.  What  could  be  more  obvious 
than  that  the  remedy  for  these  terrible  days  and 
interrupted  evenings  was  in  the  establishment  of 
a  casino  at  Amandos,  where  she  could  play  not  this 
tiresome  bezique,  but  the  real  unapproachable  rou- 
lette ?  And  she  rose  from  her  chair,  and  fairly 
danced  round  the  room  at  the  thought.  She  would 
send  for  Pierre — the  inimitable  Pierre — the  most 
discreet  and  attentive  of  croupiers.  He  should 
manage  the  tables  for  her,  and  receive  a  magnifi- 
cent salary.  Oh,  heavens  !  what  a  relief  it  would 
be  to  shp  out  of  the  House  for  a  recuperative  hour 
in  the  casino — to  forget  for  a  little  the  unrivalled 
tedium  of  State  affairs  !  The  casino  should  be  built 
on   Crown   land,   close  to   the   Palace   garden,    and 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  109 

there  should  be  a  quiet  entrance  through  a  private 
gate  into  the  place,  to  save  going  round  the  garden 
walls.  There  should  be  a  Httle  red  room,  like  that 
in  which  she  had  played  so  often  at  Monte  Carlo, 
and  which  of  late  the  obsequious  manager  had  re- 
served for  her  when  there  was  a  party  with  her, 
where  Pierre,  urbane  and  infallible,  should  set  the 
little  ball  spinning,  with  his  thrilling  plain-song  chant, 
'  Faites  vos  jeux,  messieurs  et  mesdames — faites  vos 
jeiix  I ' 

The  entrance  of  Petros  interrupted  her  rosy 
visions,  and  before  he  was  well  inside  the  room  : 

'  Oh,  Petros,  I  have  such  an  idea  1  '  she  cried. 
'  I  shall  start  a  nice  little  casino  here  at  Amandos, 
and  while  you,  you  dear  industrious  old  thing,  are 
having  your  endless  interviews  with  centipede 
Malakopf,  I  shall  run  across  and  just  take  ten 
minutes  at  roulette — a  breath  of  fresh  air.  It 
shall  be  built  on  that  piece  of  land,  just  outside  the 
garden,  where  you  wanted  to  have  an  asylum  for 
decayed  and  idiotic  old  gentlemen,  and  Pierre  shall 
be  the  manager.' 

Now,  though  Malakopf  often  groaned  under  the 
slowness  of  the  Prince,  Petros  was  not  altogether 
without  wits.  Perhaps  his  late  interview  with 
Malakopf  had  sharpened  them — indeed,  he  seemed 
to  Sophia  to  have  acquired  a  certain  quickness 
lately,  though  not  at  cards  ;  but,  at  any  rate,  he 
saw  at  once  that  Sophia  was  coming  to  meet  their 
schemes  half-way,  as  Malakopf  had  wished  she 
should.     A  reigning   Princess,   winning   and   losing 


no  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

money  from  her  loyal  subjects,  could  not  be  con- 
strued into  an  edifying  spectacle,  and  he  made  no 
doubt  that  the  people  of  Rhodope  would  agree 
with  him.  She  could  not,  so  he  thought,  have  hit 
on  a  more  simple  and  direct  method  of  dividing 
the  folk  into  two  parties — one  for  her  (a  small  one, 
he  hoped),  and  one  (consequently  a  large  one)  against 
her.  Truly  she  was  sowing  the  seed  of  a  revolution 
broadcast,  and  it  would  grow  up  armed  men  against 
herself.  His  face  was  a  miracle  of  delighted  sym- 
pathy. 

'  Oh,  Sophia,'  he  cried,  '  how  great  an  idiot  you 
must  think  me  for  never  having  suggested  that! 
Oh,  if  I  had  only  had  the  idea,  the  casino  should 
have  been  ready  when  you  returned  !  It  should 
have  been  built  in  a  day,  like  a  fairy-palace,  to 
pleasure  you.  And  Pierre,  Pierre  is  just  the  man — 
sober  and  steady,  and  full  of  the  divine  fire.  I 
remember  his  laying  his  hand  on  his  heart  one  night 
after  one  of  those  evenings,  those  dear  evenings, 
we  spent  together  at  Monte  Carlo,  and  saying  :  "  I 
adore  the  Princess  !     None  plays  so  finely  as  she  !  "  ' 

Sophia  was  charmed  with  his  readiness  to  take 
her  idea  up. 

'  At  last,  and  at  last !  '  she  cried.  '  Oh,  Petros, 
my  soul  is  sick  for  roulette  !  ' 

'  Poor  dear  Sophia,'  said  he,  '  and  I  am  afraid 
you  find  me  grown  very  dull.  But  it  is  true  you 
have  every  reason  to  find  me  dull  ;  I  am  so  taken 
up  with  these  public  affairs,  that  the  work  has 
become  a  passion  to  me.     In  my  little  way,  I  have 


\  THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  iii 

tried  to  fulfil  these  duties  ;  at  first,  I  allow,  with 
distaste,  but  the  performance  of  them  has  brought 
its  own  reward.' 

'  Ah,  copy-books — copy-books  !  '  cried  Sophia, 
laying  her  hands  laughingly  on  his  shoulder. 

'  Copy-books — even  so,  Sophia,'  he  said.  '  The 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  man,  and  it  is  better 
to  be  useful  than  to  be  clever.  I  am  full  of  such 
thoughts.  And  it  is  dull  for  you.  Would  that  I 
could  do  more,  however.' 

'  You  are  a  dear,  good  man,  Petros,'  she  said, 
'  and  I  am  delighted  with  you.' 

'  I  have  done  my  best,'  he  said,  with  a  quiet 
dignity  and  an  extreme  sincerity  of  manner. 

He  glanced  for  a  moment  at  a  bundle  of  papers 
he  held  in  his  hand. 

'  No,  no,'  cried  Sophia  ;  '  you  shall  not  attend 
to  any  more  business  to-night.  What  are  those 
papers  ?  Throw  them  into  the  grate,  and  talk  to 
me  about  the  casino.' 

The  man  had  his  part  at  the  finger-tips. 

'  The  latter  with  pleasure,  the  former  I  must 
refuse  to  do,'  he  said.  '  How  would  you  greet  me, 
Sophia,  if  I  came  to  you  next  week  and  said  your 
Civil  List  had  not  been  paid,  or  that  a  deputation 
insisted  on  waiting  on  you  ?  What  is  the  time  ? 
Just  eleven.  Well,  we  will  sit  and  talk,  and  soon 
I  must  go  back  to  work.  No,  no,'  he  cried,  as  she 
would  laughingly  have  taken  the  papers  from  him  ; 
'  it  is  for  dull  old  people  like  me  to  do  this  sort  of 
work.     You  shall  not  see  any  of  them,  Sophia  ;  ' 


112  PRINXESS  SOPHIA. 

and  with  a  quick  motion  he  folded  them  up  and 
put  them  in  his  pocket. 

But  he  had  had  a  rather  awkward  moment.  It 
was  quite  true  that  they  were  not  for  Sophia  to  see, 
since  among  them  was  a  note  from  Malakopf  con- 
taining urgent  advice  to  him  not  to  be  in  too  great 
a  hurry,  and  quoting  Napoleon  to  that  effect. 

So — for  there  was  no  law  in  Rhodope  against 
gambling,  and  not  likely  to  be  while  Sophia  hved 
— the  Princess's  casino  rose  apace.  The  marble 
quarries  belonging  to  the  Crown  grew  loud  with 
the  chisel,  and  unceasingly  poured  forth  their 
translucent  treasures  to  pleasure  the  Princess  ;  for 
the  hangings  of  her  rooms  the  silk-worms  toiled  and 
span,  and  for  their  colouring  the  purple  shells  of 
Tyre  worked  their  miracles  ;  for  her  the  looms  of 
the  Orient  clashed  and  wove,  and  the  red  roses 
on  Arab  stuffs  grew  thicker  than  the  stars  at 
night. 

By  spring  the  walls  had  risen  to  their  full  stately 
height,  and  Duvelleroys,  of  Paris,  who  had  con- 
tracted for  the  finishing  and  decorations  of  the 
establishment,  were  already  sending  out  their  ar- 
tists and  argosies.  A  flight  of  broad  marble  steps, 
balustraded  in  a  grotesque  flamboyant  style,  led 
up  to  the  great  terrace  running  along  the  west  front, 
which  overlooked  the  town  of  Amandos,  and  com- 
manded a  magnificent  sea-view.  In  summer  this 
would  be  an  out-of-door  dining-room,  where  the 
player  would  cool  his  fevered  brain  by  the  contem- 
plation of  the  infinite  sea,  and  the  sight  of  the  sun 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  113 

setting  in  amber  clouds  behind  the  northern  cape 
of  Corfu.  Double  doors  gave  entrance  to  a  marble 
flagged  hall,  from  which  opened  the  various  card- 
rooms  ;  on  the  left  was  the  largest  public-room, 
for  roulette  only,  and  a  cabinet  off  this,  with  scar- 
let satin  Walls,  was  called  the  Princess's  room. 
Straight  in  front  of  the  entrance  were  the  rooms 
for  baccarat,  and  on  the  right  was  what  Sophia 
called  the  nursery,  a  room  devoted  to  the  innocent, 
if  somewhat  lugubrious,  pursuit  of  '  little  horses  ' 
and  the  '  train  '  ;  but,  as  she  said,  a  finished  gambler 
was  made,  not  born,  and  the  young  needed  educa- 
tion. A  smoking-room,  containing  a  bar  and  a 
white  marble  statue  of  Luck,  from  the  chisel  of 
Augier,  blindfold  and  smiling  on  one  side  of  the 
mouth,  completed  the  square. 

On  the  first  floor  were  the  dining-room  and  the 
various  drawing-rooms,  where  the  less  orthodox 
games  of  whist,  picquet,  and  bezique  might  be 
played  ;  while  the  downstairs  rooms  of  the  club — 
so  Sophia  named  it — were  devoted  to  the  truer 
forms  of  play.  Thus,  as  she  acutely  observed,  ex- 
tremes could  be  seen  meeting,  for  in  her  club,  as 
in  all  other  clubs,  whist  was  only  allowed  in  cer- 
tain rooms. 

Upstairs,  again,  over  the  dining  and  drawing- 
rooms,  were  some  twenty  bedrooms,  so  that  the 
most  thorough  devotees — those,  in  fact,  who  were 
purged  of  all  other  desires — need  not  leave  the  club 
night  or  day,  and  the  goddess  of  their  worship  might 
directly  watch,  if  so  she  felt  disposed,  over  their 


114  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

slumbers,  and  send  them  dreams  fuU  of  the  true 
rehgion. 

Malakopf  saw  the  building  go  up  with  mixed 
feelings.  At  first  he  had  been  quite  of  the  same 
mind  as  Prince  Petros,  agreeing  that  the  Princess 
was  playing  most  dirg;tly  into  their  hands,  and 
forwarding  their  schemes.  But  the  reception  of 
the  prospectus  by  the  people,  and  the  avidity  with 
which  the  shares  in  the  undertaking  were  snatched 
up — for  the  Princess  had  floated  a  company — 
was  somewhat  puzzling  to  him.  Hitherto  gamb- 
ling had  been  almost  unknown  in  Rhodope,  always 
excepting  in  the  precincts  of  the  palace,  but  the 
idea  of  gaining  rouleaux  of  gold  by  merely  sitting 
in  an  admirably  comfortable  arm-chair  in  a  beautiful 
room  seemed  to  have  taken  strong  hold  on  the 
public  imagination.  The  shares  were  divided  into 
£60,000  of  ordinary  shares,  and  ;£4o,ooo  of  deben- 
ture stock,  which  were  to  pay  5  per  cent.  The 
Princess  had  herself  invested  £10,000  in  the  ordin- 
ary shares,  and  Prince  Petros,  with  characteristic 
caution,  £5,000  in  debenture  stock ;  but  within 
three  hours  of  the  subscription  being  opened,  every 
share  was  taken  up.  The  stock  was  issued  at  par, 
but  before  the  week  was  out  it  was  already  quoted 
at  115,  and  before  the  building  was  complete  it 
reached  120,  and  Prince  Petros  was  strongly  in- 
cHned  to  sell  out,  though  the  fear  of  his  wife's  scorn 
prevented  him. 

Here,  too,  Malakopf  had  acted  with  Semitic  pru- 
dence.    Supposing    by    any    chance    the    Princess 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  115 

should,  in  some  unforeseen  way,  frustrate  the  scheme 
of  himself  and  Petros,  and  she  and  her  gambling 
continue  to  throne  it  over  Rhodope,  it  would  be 
well  to  have  a  foot  in  her  camp,  and  while  investing 
only  £1,000  under  his  own  name,  he  telegraphed 
from  Vienna  in  the  name  of  a  large  banking  firm 
there  to  secure  £10,000  of  ordinary  shares,  or  as 
many  as  might  be  allotted. 

But  these  three  were  the  only  large  investors, 
and  for  the  most  part  the  money  was  made  up  by 
small  speculators,  on  the  strength,  so  it  seemed,  of 
the  Princess's  name.  Ten  fishermen  from  Mavro- 
mati,  for  instance,  who,  so  to  speak,  did  not  know 
red  from  black,  clubbed  together  and  purchased  a 
£100  ordinary  share ;  a  wild-eyed  shepherd-boy 
came  in  from  the  remote  hills,  and  asked  for  twenty 
francs  worth  of  the  new  club  ;  and  the  head  of  the 
Education  Department  put  a  question  in  the  As- 
sembly as  to  whether  it  was  permissible  to  invest 
the  surplus  of  the  Government  grant  in  the  Prin- 
cess's company. 

Now,  Malakopf,  astute  pohtician  as  he  was,  and 
unrivalled  astronomer  of  the  financial  heaven,  could 
not  with  certainty  interpret  these  signs  of  the  times. 
The  readiness  with  which  the  subscription  was  taken 
up  seemed  to  augur  either  a  greater  popularity  of 
the  Princess  than  he  had  bargained  for,  or  a  love  of 
gambling  in  her  subjects  hitherto  void  of  fruition. 
If  either  of  these  interpretations  Was  correct — and 
he  did  not  see  a  loophole  for  a  third — it  argued  not 
well  for  the  success  of  the  anti-dynastic  conspiracy. 


ii6  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

He  had  hoped  that  there  would  be  some  outburst 
of  popular  feeling  against  the  scheme,   or  an  un- 
friendly reference  to  it  in  the  Assembly.     It  is  true 
there    had   been   some   great    outburst   of   popular 
feeling,  but  that  had  been  in  favour  of  it  ;    and  as 
for  the  unfriendly  reference  in  the  Assembly,  that 
was    still    unspoken.     For    himself,    he    dared    not 
allude  to  it  in  a  hostile  spirit  (Prince  Petros's  tongue 
was  also  tied),  for  he  had  openly  invested  £i,ooo 
in  the  company,  and  he  would  without  doubt  be 
called  ugly  names  if,  after  that,  he  showed  public 
disapproval  of  it.     More  than  that,  supposing  he 
organized  a  successful  opposition  to  it,   he  stood 
fair  to  lose  that  much  larger  sum  which  he  had 
covertly  put  into  it.     Of  his  two  possible  interpre- 
tations for  the  success  of  the  subscription,  he  much 
preferred  to  attribute  it  to  the  popularity  of  the 
Princess,  for  if  a  latent  love  of  gambling  was  innate 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Rhodopians,  he  had  to  face 
the  fact  that  before  long  she  would  be  doubly  en- 
deared to  her  subjects,  since,  considering  her  merely 
as  a  gambler,  she  was  unique   and  magnificent — 
even   Petros,   with   his  system,   allowed   that — and 
there  were  no  two  words  to  the  question. 

Prince  Petros  meantime  watched  the  rising  walls 
with  a  daily  accession  of  disgust  and  misgiving. 
He  Was  a  skilful  card-player,  but  he  was  not  a 
gambler.  His  daydream  of  seeing  Sophia  go  even- 
ing after  evening  to  empty  and  depopulated  rooms, 
to  find  Pierre  mournfully  yawning  behind  his  hand, 
and  regretting  the  gay  stir  and  bustle  of  Monte 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  117 

Carlo,  was  replaced  by  a  vision  which  showed  him 
Sophia  crowned  and  honoured  queen  of  the  gamblers. 
He  was  both  more  sanguine  and  more  easily  cast 
down  than  his  acuter  colleague.  He  had  foreseen 
a  complete  and  immediate  success  when  the  idea 
of  a  club  was  put  to  him  by  his  wife,  where  Mala- 
kopf  had  only  seen  a  possible  factor  of  success  ; 
and  similarly  now,  while  Malakopf  was  dubious, 
the  Prince  was  frankly  despondent. 

'  There  is  no  hope  here,'  he  said  to  the  Prime 
Minister  one  day,  '  where  I  had  hoped  so  much. 
She  is  more  popular  than  ever,  and  the  gold  bums 
in  the  people's  pockets  while  they  Wait  for  the  club 
to  be  opened.  They  are  gamblers — born  gamblers 
— I  am  sure  of  it,  and  she  is  the  finest  of  them  all. 
You  can  take  my  word  for  it,  there  is  no  one  in 
the  world  with  so  fine  a  style.  They  will  worship 
her  method  of  play,  they  will  adopt  it  universally, 
so  far  as  their  more  timorous  natures  permit,  and 
she  will  pile  success  on  success.  Half  Rhodope 
will  think  of  nothing  but  doubling  their  winnings, 
the  other  half  of  repairing  their  losses.  I  almost 
wish  I  had  never  come  to  this  damnable  country. 
Rhodope  will  become  a  roulette-board,  and  I  of 
infinitely  less  moment  than  the  marble  which  the 
croupier  sets  spinning.' 

Malakopf  moved  impatiently  in  his  chair.  He 
no  longer  treated  the  Prince  in  private  with  the 
least  form  of  ceremony. 

'  Oh,  for  God's  sake,  do  not  be  so  fretful  and 
childish !  '  he  said.      '  If  I,  who  am  as  cunning  as 


ii8  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  devil  and  as  wise  as  the  original  serpent,  can- 
not yet  make  up  my  mind  how  this  experiment  of 
your  wife's  will  turn  out,  how  is  it  possible  for  you  to 
see  the  issues  with  such  clearness  ?  You  do  not  grasp 
the  situation.  This  new  club  is  a  new  factor  in 
our  scheme  ;  it  is  quite  likely  that  it  is  a  factor 
against  us.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  indirectly 
give  us  an  opportunity.  We  have  to  wait,  so  let 
us  do  so  like  reasonable  men.  I  have  no  patience 
with  prophets — there  is  no  such  thing  as  prophecy  ; 
the  whole  world  is  one  calculation.  You  have  not 
calculated  ;  you  only  prophesy.  I  never  prophesy  ; 
but  I  am  not  without  a  mathematical  gift.' 

'  You  are  not  tied  by  the  ankle  to  the  steps  of  a 
throne,'  retorted  Petros.  '  You  do  not  know  Sophia 
as  I  know  her,  and,  what  is  more,  you  have  only 
a  thousand  pounds  in  this  precious  club.' 

Malakopf  had  not  told,  and  did  not  intend  to  tell, 
Petros  about  his  further  investment,  and  he  replied  : 

'  You  are  wholly  wrong,  my  dear  Prince.  Because 
you  drink  tea  with  Princess  Sophia,  and  see  her  in 
her  stays,  you  think  you  know  her  better  than  I. 
Perhaps  you  know  the  people  better  also.  I,  at 
any  rate,  know  that  she  is  capable  of  almost  anything 
— certainly  of  any  piece  of  extravagant  folly,  but 
also,  I  am  afraid,  of  a  consummate  stroke  of  State- 
craft. If  I  were  to  take  to  prophesying  in  your 
spirit,  an  uneasy  man  would  be  standing  in  your 
shoes.  You  don't  see  a  quarter  of  the  possible  risks 
we  may  have  to  run,  but  you  see  no  more  of  our 
possible  opportunities.     But  observe,  I  never  pro- 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  119 

phesy,  and  I  have  not  yet  enough  data  to  tell  how 
this  affair  will  turn  out.  Be  good  enough  to  wait  ; 
nothing  was  ever  done  in  a  hurry,  though  things 
may  be  done  fast.' 

Pierre,  obedient  to  the  commands  of  his  adored 
Princess,  arrived  in  the  month  of  April,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  charmed  with  all  the  arrangements, 
and  more  than  gratified  with  his  salary.  The  Prin- 
cess gave  him  audience  at  the  Palace  on  the  day  of 
his  arrival,  talked  to  him  for  an  hour  with  great 
vivacity,  and  would  have  liked  to  ask  him  to  dinner, 
if  it  were  only  to  see  Petros'  face  when  she  told  him 
who  her  guest  was.  But  she  refrained,  and  Pierre, 
who  would  have  been  greatly  embarrassed  by  the 
honour,  was  allowed  to  take  his  departure  in  peace. 

The  club  was  formally  opened  on  the  first  of  May, 
so  breathless  had  been  the  speed  with  which  the 
Princess's  plans  were  put  into  execution,  and  she 
herself  performed  the  ceremony  in  full  state.  Levee 
dress  with  orders  was  worn,  and  the  gardens  of  the 
Casino  presented  the  most  brilliant  appearance. 
Only  those  who  had  paid  their  subscriptions  and 
become  members  of  the  club  were  allowed  in  the 
spacious  grounds,  but  it  really  seemed  as  if  all 
Rhodope  were  members.  The  Princess  had  arranged 
quite  an  imposing  little  ceremony,  resembling  the 
enthronement  of  a  bishop.  Followed  by  Petros 
and  her  ministers,  she  walked  up  the  steps  of  the 
south  veranda,  and  in  breathless  silence  tapped  at 
the  closed  doors  leading  into  the  great  hall.  From 
inside  Pierre's  voice  asked,  '  Who  is  there  ?  '     The 


120  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Princess  thereupon  replied  :  'I,  Sophia,  hereditary 
Princess  of  Rhodope,'  on  which  Pierre  threw  the 
doors  open,  and,  bowing  low,  preceded  her  to  the 
big  public  room,  while  the  Guards'  band  in  the 
gallery  trumpeted  out  the  Rhodope  anthem.  Arrived 
at  the  large  roulette  room,  she.  Prince  Petros,  Mala- 
kopf,  the  Mayor  of  Amandos,  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  the  first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  the  Chairman  of  Council, 
took  their  places  round  the  table,  and  Pierre  seated 
himself  in  the  croupier's  place.  Sophia  had  also 
asked  the  Bishop  of  Amandos  to  take  his  place  with 
them,  adding,  however,  that  as  scruples  might  stand 
in  his  lordship's  way,  this  was  to  be  considered  as 
an  invitation  and  not  a  corhmand,  and  as  an  invita- 
tion he  had  refused  it.  Everyone  then  staked 
twenty-seven  napoleons  (the  same  number  being 
the  years  of  the  Princess)  on  a  half-dozen  of  num- 
bers, and  Pierre  set  the  momentous  ball  spinning. 
Round  and  round  it  went,  slowed  down,  wavered, 
and  finally  lurched  into  zero,  the  number  backed 
by  the  bank. 

Princess  Sophia  sprang  up  and  clapped  her  hands. 

*  An  omen  !  '  she  cried — '  a  magnificent  omen  ! 
Success  to  the  club  of  Amandos  !  Pierre,  I  wish  my 
stake  had  been  a  hundredfold  what  it  was  !  ' 

Then,  recollecting  ceremony,  she  bowed  to  the 
crowds  which  had  followed  them  into  the  room, 
and  stood  there  while  the  table  was  opened. 

'  Ladies  and  gentlemen,'  she  said,  with  a  wonderful 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  121 

dignity  of  manner,  '  I  declare  this  room  formally 
opened.  There  is  no  need  for  me  to  remind  you 
how  ancient  and  venerable  is  the  practice  of  gamb- 
ling. Cultivate,  let  me  beg  you,  a  calm  demeanour 
at  the  tables,  and  bow  your  heads  cheerfully  and 
obediently  to  the  decision  of  pure  chance.  Long 
may  the  club  supply  to  you  a  little  pleasurable 
excitement,  and  may  Luck  ever  favour  the  de- 
serving ! 

Again  bowing,  amid  a  tumult  of  applause,  she  and 
the  high  officials  who  had  attended  her  left  the  room, 
and  no  sooner  were  they  out  than  there  was  a 
positive  scramble  for  the  places.  Members  of  the 
Assembly,  fishermen  from  the  coast,  tradesmen  of 
the  town,  wild  shepherdfolk  from  the  hills,  jostled 
and  pushed  together  to  secure  a  place. 

Sophia,  in  the  hall  outside,  heard  the  noise  with 
rapture. 

*  This  will  be  a  success,  gentlemen,'  she  said  ; 
'  let  us  congratulate  ourselves.' 

The  Royal  Party  took  a  hasty  luncheon,  without 
speeches,  on  the  terrace  outside,  and  as  soon  as  she 
had  drunk  her  coffee  Sophia  visited  each  of  the 
rooms  in  turn,  all  of  which  were  crowded  with 
eager  gamblers.  In  each  she  had  seen  that  there 
was  a  chair  on  the  croupier's  right  with  a  crown, 
and  her  initial  embroidered  on  it,  and  in  each  room 
she  now  took  her  seat  and  played  a  few  stakes.  She 
was  watched  with  eager  and  admiring  eyes,  for,  as 
usual,  she  played  with  a  splendid  recklessness  and 
the  most  imperturbable  demeanour,  doubling  and 


122  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

redoubling  her  stake  after  she  had  lost,  and  placing 
it  here,  there,  anywhere  that  took  her  fancy.  Her 
luck  was  extraordinarily  good,  and  her  dash  and 
boldness  were  suitably  rewarded.  The  people,  in 
whose  nature,  as  Malakopf  had  suspected,  there 
lurked  an  innate  love  of  gambling,  were  charmed 
and  lost  in  wonder.  She  had  given  them  a  char- 
acteristic style,  and  until  some  twenty  years  ago, 
when  the  casino  at  Amandos  was  turned  into  an 
asylum  for  decayed  and  idiotic  old  gentlemen,  there 
was  nowhere  in  the  world  where  you  could  see  such 
glorious  ventures  and  such  desperate  punting  as  in 
the  building  that  Princess  Sophia  opened  on  this 
sunny  first  of  May. 

The  gambling  instinct  spread  like  some  medieval 
plague  over  the  country.  Shepherds  coming  to 
Amandos  with  their  sheep  for  market  would  rush 
from  their  careful  bargainings  to  the  reckless  chances 
of  the  table.  A  whole  column  of  the  Amandos  Herald 
was  devoted  to  the  record  of  the  same  (just  as  in 
the  Times  we  have  a  column  of  Money  Market), 
analyzing  a  run  of  luck,  or  giving  the  total  sum  a 
man  would  have  gained  who  had  continued  to  back 
a  certain  six  numbers  from  10.30  to  11.30. 

The  manufacture  of  roulette-boards,  wLich  Sophia, 
with  a  far-reaching  prudence,  had  made  a  Govern- 
ment monopoly,  bid  fair  to  become  a  valuable 
revenue.  They  were  plain,  but  very  well  made,  and 
the  enormous  quantities  in  which  they  were  supplied 
enabled  her  to  sell  them  at  a  price  which  put  them 
within  everybody's  reach.     She  also  instituted  an 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  123 

Order  of  the  Zero,  the  first  grade  of  which  was  to 
be  conferred  only  on  European  princes  of  blood 
royal ;  but  the  second  was  the  reward  of  continuous 
and  orthodox  play,  and  was  conferred  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  Pierre. 

The  restaurant  accommodation  in  the  casino  was 
soon  found  to  be  totally  inadequate,  and  the  plot  of 
ground  immediately  adjoining  the  club  garden  was 
bought  at  a  fancy  price  by  a  native  speculator,  and 
on  it  was  run  up  with  breathless  speed  an  immense 
hotel  and  restaurant.  From  foreign  countries 
people  flocked  in  shoals  to  the  new  Temple  of  Chance, 
at  first  from  curiosity,  but  later  from  delight  in  its 
charms,  and  found  that  the  fame  of  its  magnificence, 
the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  and  the  invigorating 
quality  of  the  mountain  air  had  been  done  scant 
justice  to.  Eminent  physicians,  who  knew  that  the 
body  is  reached  through  the  subtle  gateways  of  the 
mind,  no  less  than  the  mind  through  the  subtle  gate- 
ways of  the  body,  and  that  for  many  bad  health  is 
the  direct  result  of  being  bored,  recommended, 
honestly  and  wisely,  a  month  at  Rhodope  for  anaemic 
and  nerve-ridden  people.  Success  scarcely  ever 
failed  to  attend  on  the  cure  when  the  case  was 
properly  diagnosed  ;  for  the  air  itself  was  a  tonic 
of  divine  prescription,  and  the  mind  was  not,  as  in 
so  many  of  those  unspeakable  mountain  resorts,  left 
to  rot  and  breed  disease,  but  was  intelligently  enter- 
tained at  the  casino.  The  English  people  above 
all  flocked  to  Amandos,  for,  as  they  said,  the  folk 
are  not  like  foreigners,  one  would  really  take  them 


124  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

for  English  ;  and  when  they  of  Albion  take  up  this 
attitude,  it  is  pretty  certain  that  the  place  will  be 
popular  among  their  compatriots.  Their  insular 
aloofness  fell  from  them  like  scales  in  Rhodope — it 
was  as  good  as  being  at  home.  And  with  the  Eng- 
lish came  a  Church  of  England  chaplain,  hip-baths, 
one  most  hazardous  golf-links  on  the  mountain  side, 
and  another  on  the  sandy  fore-shore  of  Mavromati, 
and  the  ties  were  complete. 

During  these  summer  months  the  Prince  and 
Malakopf  met  often,  but  they  found  long  faces  for 
each  other.  Their  faces  would  have  been  longer  still 
had  they  known  how  completely  their  little  plans 
had  miscarried,  and  that  already  the  Princess  was 
very  tolerably  acquainted  with  what  was  going  on. 
The  betrayal  had  happened  in  this  wise. 

It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  Queen  of  England's 
birthday,  and  Malakopf,  with  the  other  Ministers, 
dined  oiftcially  at  the  British  Legation.  The  dinner 
was  for  men  only,  but  after  dinner  Lord  Abbots- 
worthy  gave  a  reception.  He  was  a  widower,  and  the 
duty  of  receiving  his  guests  fell  on  his  daughter. 
Lady  Blanche.  The  spacious  marble-flagged  terrace 
in  front  of  the  house  was  covered  in  with  a  Syrian 
tent,  and  the  guests  for  the  most  part,  after  shaking 
hands  with  Lady  Blanche,  passed  through  the  rooms 
and  into  the  illuminated  coolness  of  the  covered 
terrace. 

Now  Malakopf,  who  for  several  weeks  before  this 
festivity  had  been  somewhat  fretted  by  the  harsh- 
ness and  uncertainty  of  the  events  which  followed  on 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  125 

the  opening  of  the  Princess's  club,  and  by  the  con- 
tinued despondency  of  his  colleague,  had  promised 
himself  an  evening  free  from  restraint,  and  in  two 
senses  to  give  his  tongue  a  treat.  He  proposed — for 
he  was  of  that  odious  class  of  voluptuary  which  fixes 
its  debauches  beforehand — ^to  dine  as  his  nature,  or 
rather  the  unexceptionable  chef  of  the  Minister, 
prompted  him,  and  to  drink  as  copiously  as  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  vintage  with  which  he  was  served 
suggested.  Now,  Lord  Abbotsworthy,  who  was  him- 
self a  great  judge  of  grape-juice,  had  made  out 
with  some  care  the  menu  of  the  wines,  and  his 
choice  was  masterly.  The  consequence  was  that 
Malakopf,  who  had  passed  a  really  memorable  hour 
in  the  dining-room,  eating  much  and  drinking  the 
best  and  plenty  of  it,  came  upstairs  in  an  unusually 
relaxed  frame  of  mind.  It  would  be  entirely  out 
of  the  question  to  have  called  him  drunk,  or  any- 
thing like  it,  but  the  sunshine  which  lay  upon  the 
slopes  of  the  champagne  country  in  the  comet  year 
had  stirred  his  imagination  and  unloosed  his  tongue. 
Naturally  he  was  a  silent  man,  but  to-night  he  was 
prone  to  be  talkative  ;  a  woman's  wit  did  the  rest. 
Lady  Blanche  had  been  much  interested  in  and 
somewhat  distressed  at  the  opening  of  the  Princess's 
club.  She  was  a  young  lady  gifted  with  a  great 
deal  of  intelligent  curiosity  ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
things  she  was  curious  about  were  always  worth 
knowing,  and  she  particularly  wished  to  know  how 
this  extraordinary  innovation  struck  the  leading 
men  of  the  State.     She  had  heard  with  a  glow  of 


126  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  heart  the  tremendous  reception  accorded  to  her 
dear  friend  Princess  Sophia  ;  but  she  intensely  de- 
sired to  learn  how  those  in  command  took  this 
new  evidence  of  the  Princess's  popularity,  whether, 
in  fact — the  same  question  had  occurred  to  Malakopf 
■ — the  greeting  had  been  merely  the  tribute  of  a 
loyal  people  to  a  popular  Princess,  or  whether  it 
implied  an  innate  predisposition  to  the  new  amuse- 
ment provided  for  them. 

It  was  with  this  in  her  mind  that,  when  the  duty 
of  reception  was  over,  she  walked  slowly  through 
the  room,  with  one  ear  only  open  to  the  voice  of 
her  varying  interlocutor,  the  other  wide  to  catch 
the  strident  accents  of  the  Prime  Minister.  At  last 
she  saw  him,  though  only  distantly,  wide-mouthed, 
yellow-toothed,  separated  from  her  by  a  crowd  of 
tedious  folk  ;  but  as  she  looked  in  his  direction,  it 
so  happened  that  he  looked  in  hers,  and  their  eyes 
met.  Malakopf's  eye  was  a  shifty  one  at  the  best  ; 
but  to-night's  potations  seemed  to  have  given  him 
a  greater  directness  of  gaze,  and  it  was  with  no  sur- 
prise that,  in  answer  to  her  little  smile  of  greeting,  she 
saw  him  a  moment  afterwards  move  from  his  place 
and  make  his  way  through  the  crush  towards  her. 

'  Ah,  Lady  Blanche,'  he  said,  '  but  unless  I  push 
and  squeeze  I  shall  have  no  chance  of  getting  a  word 
with  you.  How  is  it  that  when  we  go  to  a  friend's 
house  we  see  the  whole  world,  but  not  our  friend  ?  ' 

'  And  I,  too,  was  despairing  of  getting  a  word 
with  you,'  replied  Blanche.  '  It  is  a  delicious  night : 
let  us  go  on  to  the  balcony  ;  the  rooms  are  so  hot.' 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  127 

Malakopf  bowed  and  offered  her  his  arm. 

'  You  are  too  kind  to  an  old  man  Hke  me,'  he 
said  ;   '  but  I  am  very  greedy.' 

This  was  quite  true  ;  and  they  sat  down  in  a 
corner  of  the  balcony,  and  Blanche  went  straight  to 
the  point. 

'  There  are  great  changes  in  Rhodope,'  she  said. 
'  Tell  me  how  it  all  strikes  you.' 

Malakopf  paused  a  moment ;  his  instinct  counselled 
caution  ;  but  his  dinner  had  unloosened  his  tongue, 
and  he  longed  to  let  himself  go  and  talk  freely  to 
this  beautiful  and  able  woman. 

'  I  don't  really  know  how  it  strikes  me  ;  indeed, 
I  confess  myself  puzzled,'  he  said.  '  At  any  rate,  I 
think  the  Princess  is  a  cleverer  woman  than  I  had 
supposed.     Do  you  follow  that  ?  ' 

Blanche  nodded. 

'  You  mean,  of  course,  that  the  success  of  the 
club  has  more  than  justified  her  starting  it ;  that 
she  knew  or  guessed — which  is  even  cleverer — that 
there  was  a  love  of  gambling  in  the  people  ?  ' 

Malakopf  applauded  gently  with  his  finger-tips. 

'  My  dear  lady,'  he  said,  '  you  have  no  idea  what 
a  joy  it  is  to  me  to  talk  to  people  who  find  me  intel- 
ligible, to  whom  I  have  not  to  translate.     Now, 

Prince  Petros '  and  he  paused.     '  I  think  I  shall 

advertise  for  a  translator,'  he  added,  with  a  sigh. 

'  Prince  Petros  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  man 
with  all  the  charm  of  cleverness  and  the  brains  of 
a  fool,'  remarked  Blanche, 

Malakopf  considered. 


128  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  Yes,  you  have  hit  him  full,'  he  said  at  length. 
'  I  have  always  known  what  you  have  just  said, 
though  I  have  never  been  able  to  formulate  it.  It 
is  the  charm  of  cleverness  that  makes  one  continu- 
ally think  one  is  dealing  with  a  gifted  man,  and  as 
continually  one  is  brought  up  short.  Oh,  how 
many  jars  I  have  received  !  ' 

'  He  works  hard  in  the  Assembly,  does  he  not  ?  ' 
asked  Blanche. 

'  He  works,  it  has  always  struck  me,  like  a  con- 
vict. He  removes  a  pile  of  shot  from  one  place  to 
another,  and  then  back  again.  Thus,  at  the  end  of 
the  day  there  is  not  much  to  show  for  the  hours  of 
toil.  I  have  seen  much  of  him  lately,  and  he  has 
a  great  power  of  amassing  detail,  which,  when 
amassed,  is  useless  to  him.  He  collects  his  data, 
and  draws  no  conclusion  from  them.  Perhaps  that 
is  just  as  well ;  if  he  did  draw  conclusions,  they 
would  be  certainly  wrong  ones.' 

'  And  he  is  ambitious,  I  should  think,'  said  Blanche 
quietly. 

'  Ambitious  !  He  is  ambition.  He  is  discontented 
in  his  present  position,  and,  indeed,  who  would  not 
be  ?  He  is  a  parody  of  a  Prince,  so  he  tells  me. 
"  Fancy  being  the  husband  of  a  reigning  Princess  !  " 
he  says.' 

'  It  is  wise  of  him,  then,  to  work  hard  at  humbler 
duties,  and  get  perhaps  a  power  of  another  sort  in 
the  country.' 

'  He  has  no  power,'  snapped  Malakopf,  '  and  he 
never  will  have  !  ' 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  129 

Now,  Lady  Blanche  had  long  entertained  a  vague 
curiosity  about  this  new  intimacy  between  Malakopf 
and  the  Prince.  Sophia,  she  knew,  detested  the 
man,  and  that  was  a  reason  the  more  for  surprise 
that  Petros  should  make  him  so  close  a  companion. 
Day  after  day  she  had  read  in  the  Rhodope  Herald 
that  Malakopf  had  a  long  interview  with  the  Prince, 
that  the  Prince  called  on  the  Prime  Minister  in  the 
morning  and  remained  to  luncheon,  or  that  Malakopf 
remained  at  the  Palace  till  midnight.  Up  to  this 
point  in  her  present  conversation  with  him  the  talk 
had  been  mainly  random  on  her  part,  as  one  throws 
a  fly  over  places  indeed  which  may  reasonably  hold 
a  fish,  but  in  ignorance  whether  a  fish  is  there.  But 
at  this  moment,  when  he  snapped  the  answer  back 
at  her,  forgetting  his  manners,  she  recollected  her 
curiosity  in  the  friendship  between  the  two,  and 
spoke  to  the  point,  and  not  witlessly,  so  that  Malakopf 
could  scarcely  suspect,  even  if  his  mood  was  sus- 
picious, that  he  was  being  plied  with  pertinent  con- 
versation. 

'  No,  as  yet  he  has  no  power,'  she  said  ; '  but  are 
you  sure  he  never  will  have  ?  Does  not  his  sedulous 
attention  to  questions  which  in  themselves  can  but 
interest  him  very  slightly  tend  to  make  one  think 
that  he  is  determined  not  to  be  only  a  tame  cat 
about  the  Court  ?  He  is  wise,  I  should  say,  to  wish 
to  take  an  active  part  in  affairs,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  he  is  wise  in  burdening  his  own  shoulders  with 
the  tedious  and  drearier  side  of  politics.  He  won, 
I   should  say,  golden   opinions  when  he  acted  as 

5 


130  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Regent  last  year.  Moreover,  which  is  more  im- 
portant, the  Princess  is  very  grateful  to  him.  She 
told  me  so  the  other  day  ;  and  gratitude  is  better 
worth  collecting  than  postage-stamps.' 

Malakopf  was  interested,  and  showed  it. 

'  Ah,  she  said  that  to  you,  did  she  ?  '  he  asked, 
leaning  forward  in  his  chair.  '  She  spoke  with 
gratitude,  you  say,  and  with  confidence  perhaps  in 
the  Prince  ?  ' 

'  Surely.  Why  should  she  not  ?  '  asked  Blanche, 
with  a  disarming  frankness. 

'  Rumour  had  reached  me,'  said  Malakopf,  '  that 
she  was  not  altogether  pleased  that  the  Prince 
should  do  so  much,  that  she  felt  that  she  was  a 
little  thrust  into  the  background.  I  hardly  knew 
whether  to  credit  it  or  not,  and  your  information 
has  relieved  me  indescribably.  But  if  one  looks 
closely,  there  was  some  colour  for  the  idea.  In- 
deed, I  had  supposed  that  some  such  desire  to  be  as 
prominent  as  her  husband  had  prompted  her  to 
take  this  very  new  step  of  making  a  casino  in 
Amandos.' 

Blanche  detected  a  slight  change  of  tone  in  his 
voice,  and  would  have  laid  odds  at  that  moment 
that  he  had  just  invented  these  rumours  himself. 
But  she  answered  without  a  pause  : 

'  It  is  very  ingenious  to  connect  the  building  of 
the  casino  with  that,  so  ingenious  that  it  certainly 
ought  to  be  true.  I  cannot  say  ;  it  never  occurred 
to  me  before.  About  those  rumours — surely  more 
than  that  has  reached  you ' 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  131 

Malakopf  glanced  round  to  see  that  no  one  was 
within  hearing.  He  thought  that  he  was  getting 
valuable  information  out  of  Lady  Blanche  ;  she,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  sure  that  she  was  getting  it  out 
of  him. 

'  Yes  ;  I  have  heard  more  than  that,'  he  said, 
drawing  his  chair  closer  to  hers. 

Blanche  nodded.  She  felt  no  touch  of  shame  for 
what  she^was  doing,  for  she  was  loyalty  incarnate 
to  Sophia  and  ruthless  to  any  who  were  not. 

'  You,  too,  have  heard  perhaps  that  in  certain 
quarters  it  is  thought  that  Prince  Petros  is  standing 
on  tiptoe  to  reach  the  throne  ?  '  she  asked.  '  You 
have  heard  that  in  certain  quarters  such  an  attempt 
is  likely  to  be  widely  supported  ?  What  are  we  to 
make  of  such  things  ?  There  cannot  be  any  truth 
in  them.' 

*  You  speak  frankly,'  said  Malakopf,  '  and  I  will 
follow  your  example.  I  have  heard,  it  is  true,  bitter 
complaints  against  the  Princess  Sophia,  and  my 
loyalty  has  compelled  me  to  listen  to  them,  so  as — 
so  as  to  be  on  my  guard  ;  but  it  has  often  been  hard 
work  to  control  my  indignation  when  I  listened.  I 
have  heard  her  Civil  List,  and  the  way  she  spends 
it,  bitterly  contrasted  with  the  money  spent  on 
education  and  on  the  poor.  What  is  one  to  say  to 
such  things  ?  I  am  all  loyalty  to  our  beloved  Prin- 
cess, yet  put  yourself  m  the  place  of  those  who  say 
these  things  and  be  candid.  Is  there  not  a  grain  of 
truth  in  the  accusation  ?  ' 

Malakopf  spoke  eagerly,  for  he  wanted  to  get  out 


132  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

of  Blanche  what  she  had  heard,  and,  forgetting  his 
manners  again,  leaned  forward  and  lit  a  cigarette 
at  a  candle  standing  close  to  her,  enveloping  her 
face  in  a  cloud  of  smoke.  Blanche  observed  this 
The  man  was  certainly  in  earnest  about  some- 
thing. 

'  You  will  have  a  w  hisky-and-soda,  will  you  not  ?  ' 
she  said.     '  Touch  that  bell  behind  you.' 

Malakopf  resumed  his  seat,  and  the  two  talked  of 
indifferent  subjects  till  the  footman  had  brought 
the  Prime  Minister  his  whisky ;  then  she  spoke 
again. 

'  Who  set  these  things  in  currency  ?  '  she  asked 
abruptly,  '  Do  you — do  you  really  suspect  Prince 
Petros  of  disloyalty  to  the  Princess,  and,  what  is 
worse  even,  of  disloyalty  to  his  wife  ?  ' 

'  No,  I  do  not,'  said  Malakopf ;  '  but  from  what 
you  tell  me,  from  what  I  have  myself  heard,  I  gather 
there  is  much  feeling  against  the  Princess,  and  much 
sympathy  with  her  husband.  Petros — Prince  Petros 
— I  know  feels  his  position  acutely  ;  more  than  that 

I   could   not   say.     But   disloyalty Why,   the 

man  is  as  true  as  steel  !  '  and  his  voice  rang  as  false 
as  a  cracked  crockery  plate. 

The  conversation  was  bearing  much  fruit,  so 
thought  Lady  Blanche,  and  so  also  thought  Mala- 
kopf. Lady  Blanche  felt  convinced  in  her  own  mind 
that  no  rumours  had  reached  Malakopf  about  the 
Princess's  growing  unpopularity,  but  she  had  with 
some  ingenuity  led  the  other  on  to  expand  and 
embellish  his  invention  of  them  as  he  would  have 


THE  PRINCESS'S  CLUB.  133 

them  be,  and  with  complete  success.  The  distrust 
she  had  ever  felt  of  this  cunning  old  man,  the  grow- 
ing distrust  with  which  she  had  seen  his  ripening 
intimacy  with  Petros,  was  suddenly  struck  with 
celour.  She  felt  sure  he  was  talking  out  of  his  own 
mouth.  Malakopf,  on  the  other  hand,  was  entranced 
to  find  his  airy  inventions  solidified  and  his  own 
intuitions  so  flatteringly  supported  ;  it  appeared 
that  after  all  there  did  exist  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  that  dissatisfaction  with  Sophia  which  it 
should  be  his  work  and  Petros'  to  foment.  The 
seeds  of  revolution,  it  seemed,  were  already  sown, 
and,  to  judge  by  the  way  in  which  Lady  Blanche 
endorsed  his  tentative  words,  bid  fair  to  flourish. 

'  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  he  is  so  true,'  she  said. 
'  Personally  I  know  little  of  him,  but  I  have  seen 
with  so  much  interest  the  growing  intimacy  between 
you.     Who  should  know  him,  if  you  do  not  ?  ' 

Malakopf's  exultation  broke  the  bonds  of  his 
caution. 

'  Know  him  !  '  he  cried.  '  I  know  him  as  I  know 
the  shape  of  the  glove  that  covers  my  hand  ;  indeed, 
he  is  very  like  the  glove  that  covers  my  hand.' 

Next  moment  it  was  as  if  another  had  spoken  and 
the  Prime  Minister  had  heard.  He  got  up  abruptly 
as  these  imprudent  words  were  conveyed  to  him, 
and  turned  to  Lady  Blanche,  whom  for  that  one 
minute  he  had  forgotten. 

'  I  will  wish  you  good -night,'  he  said  ;  '  I  have  a 
great  quantity  of  work  to  get  through  before  I  go  to 
bed.' 


134  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  You  go  so  early  ?  '  asked  Blanche.  '  Good-night, 
monsieur ;  I  have  so  enjoyed  our  talk.* 

When  the  other  guests  had  gone  she  danced  a 
pas  seul  all  round  the  balcony. 


CHAPTER    VIIL 

PLOTS   AND   COUNTER-PLOTS. 

Lady  Blanche  had  no  desire  to  make  a  mountain  out 
of  a  molehill,  but  even  when  she  surveyed  her  inter- 
view with  Malakopf  with  the  coolness  and  sobriety 
of  9  a.m.,  she  still  thought  that  it  was  clearly  her 
business  to  make  the  matter  known  to  her  whom  it 
principally  concerned.  Accordingly  she  sent  a  note 
to  Sophia  asking  her  for  an  audience  on  an  affair  of 
some  importance,  and  this  being  granted,  poured 
into  the  Princess's  amused  and  interested  ear  all 
that  Malakopf  had  said.  Blanche  was  a  good  nar- 
rator, with  so  admirable  a  memory  that  she  had  no 
call  to  draw  on  her  imagination,  and  her  account 
was  both  vivid  and  accurate,  the  rarest  of  com- 
binations, and  one  for  which  we  in  vain  look  in  the 
pages  of  histories. 

Princess  Sophia  was  far  too  well  entertained  by 
the  farcical  absurdity  of  the  conspiracy  to  be  really 
angry  at  present  with  her  husband.  Malakopf,  how- 
ever, less  simple-witted  and  much  older,  was  not  so 
lightly  dismissed.  She  knew  the  man  to  be  cunning, 
and  one  whose  investments  might   be  considered 


136  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

safe,  and  she  fumed  at  the  idea  of  a  centipede  con- 
spiring against  her. 

'  But  there  is  one  point  which  perplexes  me,'  she 
said  to  Blanche.  '  Petros  and  that  creature  are  in 
league  together,  that  is  certain,  and  Petros,  poor 
dear,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever,  thrones  himself 
prospectively  over  Rhodope.  Really,  I  married  a 
fool  after  all,  and  one  of  my  requirements  was  that 
my  husband  should  not  be  that.  I  shall  get  quite 
indignant  with  him  if  he  does  not  drop  this  non- 
sense. But  then  where  does  Malakopf  come  in  ? 
It  is  quite  certain  that  it  is  not  worth  his  while  to 
overturn  me  in  order  to  set  up  Petros.  Without 
doubt  he  means  to  step  in  himself  ;  but  where  ? 
He  has  mounted  as  high  in  Rhodope  as  a  subject 
can ;  he  would  not  take  so  much  trouble  if  he  was 
to  be  nothing  more.' 

'  You  must  remember  you  have  ever  treated  him 
like  an  insect.  Princess,'  said  Blanche.  '  Would 
not  it  be  sufficient  reward  for  him  to  overturn  you  ?  ' 

'  No,  I  think  not,'  said  Sophia.  '  The  man  loathes 
me,  of  course,  and  no  doubt  revenge  would  be  an 
incentive.  But  I  doubt  revenge  being  his  goal. 
Perhaps  there  are  wheels  within  wheels.  Petros  is 
to  overturn  me,  and  he  is  to  overturn  Petros.  The 
House  of  iEgina  is  to  be  a  set  of  ninepins  for  a 
centipede  !  " 

'  The  worst  of  it  is  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
find  out  more,'  said  Blanche.  '  It  was  a  lapful  of 
luck  that  we  know  at  all.' 

'  It  was  clever  of  you,  Blanche,'  said  Sophia.  '  and 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         137 

clever  people  are  always  lucky.  About  Petros — I 
shall  give  him  one  chance.  I  shall  let  fall  a  word 
which  should  be  a  warning  to  him,  something  very 
plain,  yet  meaningless  to  a  good  conscience,  and 
then  I  shall  have  another  talk  with  you,  Blanche.' 

Sophia  glanced  at  the  ormolu  clock  on  the  mantel- 
piece, which  had  just  jarred  as  a  warning  of  its 
striking. 

*  Good  gracious  !  it  is  nearly  twelve,'  she  said. 
'  I  shall  take  a  stroll  in  the  direction — in  the  direction 
of  the  club.  Thank  you  again,  Blanche  ;  how  ear- 
nestly you  know.  You  have  been  instructive  as 
well  as  amusing.  Really,  Petros  is  very  impertinent, 
now  I  think  it  over.  I  shall  ask  you  to  come  here 
again  in  a  day  or  two — or,  stay,  I  am  dining  at  the 
Legation  on  Friday  ;  we  will  talk  then,  after  dinner.' 

The  opportunity  of  giving  a  word  of  warning  to 
Petros  occurred  that  very  evening.  They  had  dined 
alone,  which  was  unusual ;  and  after  dinner,  which 
was  still  more  unusual,  the  Prince  had  proposed  a 
game  of  bezique.  Sophia  had  intended  to  go  to  the 
club,  but  she  changed  her  mind,  and  counter-ordered 
her  carriage  ;  for  during  dinner  her  husband  had 
interested  her,  and  this  proposal  of  his  was  now 
become  remarkable. 

Never  in  his  life  had  the  Prince  been  more  desirous 
to  please,  but  never  in  his  life,  had  he  known  all, 
had  his  efforts  been  more  wildly  misdirected  and 
futile,  for  during  the  day  Sophia's  amusement  had 
given  place  to  anger.  In  a  conversation  he  had  held 
with  Malakopf  that  morning,  that  sagacious  Minister, 


138  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

conscious  of  a  slight  want  of  caution  the  night  before, 
had  laid  great  stress  on  two  points. 

'  I  need  not  tell  you,  my  dear  Prince,'  he  said, 
'  how  essential  it  is  that  the  Princess  should  remain 
entirely  unsuspicious.  We  have  seen  a  great  deal  of 
each  other  lately,  and  I  reluctantly  propose  that  we 
do  not  meet  quite  so  often  for  the  future.  Our 
intimacy  might  put  someone  on  the  look-out,  and  if 
you  throw  a  bomb  where  people  are  looking,  they 
will  run  away.  That  is  my  first  point.  The  second 
point  contains  good  news.  Already  there  is  a  widely- 
spread  discontent  in  the  State  at  the  unedifying 
conduct  of  your  wife,  or  so  it  seems  to  people,  and 
a  large  sympathy  with  your  untiring  exertion  in  the 
Assembly.  Also,  I  know  for  certain  that  at  present 
Princess  Sophia  reposes  entire  confidence  in  you. 
Let  it  be  your  business  to  maintain  that  unabated — 
more,  to  increase  it.' 

'  Who  told  you  this  ?  '  asked  Petros. 

'  One  who  knows  her  well — Lady  Blanche  Ames- 
bury.' 

'  Lady  Blanche  said  she  put  entire  confidence 
in  me  ?  ' 

*  I  have  the  honour  of  telling  you  so,'  said  Mala- 
kopf  with  impatience. 

'  You  seem  to  have  had  an  intimate  talk  with 
Lady  Blanche.     She  is  a  clever  woman.' 

'  And  I  am  not  without  wits,'  said  Malakopf, 
chuckling,  '  and  our  talk  was  more  intimate  than 
she  knew.  Indeed,  she  gave  me  all  I  wanted  to 
know  with  the  charming  naivete  of  a  child.' 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.  139 

Prince  Petros  was  silent  a  moment ;  he  did  not 
feel  entirely  at  ease  about  this  interview,  but  his 
habit  of  obedience  to  Malakopf's  orders  would  not 
let  him  speak.  At  length,  dismissing  the  subject, 
'  Tell  me  how  to  maintain  my  wife's  confidence,'  he 
said. 

'  A  little  bezique  in  the  evening  would  do  wonders 
with  her,'  said  Malakopf  sententiously. 

Thus  it  was  that  Prince  Petros  had  proposed  a 
game  that  evening,  and  Sophia  accepted  from 
curiosity.  During  dinner  he  had  talked  charmingly, 
and  had  related  a  number  of  amusing  experiences 
shortly  and  with  point.  At  each  Sophia's  contempt 
rose  bitter  as  bile  in  her  throat.  Behind  her  back 
he  planned  a  revolution  ;  before  her  face  he  paid 
court  to  the  amenities  of  social  life,  he  behaved  with 
a  studied  naturalness  and  kindness.  Knowing  all 
she  knew,  these  miserable  little  attentions  seemed  to 
her  the  very  acme  of  meanness,  and  it  was  the  desire 
of  studying  him  further  which  made  her  counter- 
order  the  carriage  that  should  have  taken  her  to  the 
club.     This  argued  a  very  strong  desire. 

They  stood  by  the  open  window  drinking  their 
coffee,  while  the  groom  of  the  chambers  put  out  the 
table  and  packs  of  cards,  and  when  the  man  had 
left  the  room,  Petros  gently  thrust  his  arm  through 
hers. 

'  It  seems  so  long  since  we  have  spent  an  evening 
quietly  together,  Sophia,'  he  said,  '  To  me,  at  least, 
it  seems  long.  Sometimes  I  almost  wish  you  had 
been  a  poor  girl,  not  the  Princess  of  Rhodope,  that 


I40  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

we  had  been  able  to  live  quietly  together  up  in  some 
little  mountain  home.' 

Sophia  for  the  moment  was  struck  dumb.  Surely 
there  was  never  so  immeasurable  a  hypocrite  as  this 
man  !  She  could  not  answer,  but  since  she  wished 
him  to  continue,  she  gently  pressed  his  arm  with 
hers. 

'  You  have  felt  that  too,  dearest  ?  '  he  continued 
softly.  '  Sometimes,  Sophia,  I  have  thought  you 
were  a  little  weary  of  me.  Now  your  sweet  silence 
makes  me  know  I  was  wrong ;  so  forgive  me, 
darling.  Look  at  that  lovely  wash  of  moonlight 
over  the  town.  It  lies  like  a  benediction  over  your 
land.  It  was  just  such  a  night — was  it  not  ? — when 
I  first  came  here.  I  bless  that  day — I  bless  it  every 
hour  of  my  life.' 

Sophia  turned  from  him  ;  the  man  produced  in 
her  a  sense  of  physical  sickness.  She,  who  with  all 
her  faults  had  never  lied — she,  to  whom  falsehood 
was  a  dirty  thing,  as  inconceivable  as  not  washing, 
felt  ill  at  his  duplicity.  She  was  angry  at  herself  for 
letting  him  speak,  and  for  a  moment  she  was  on  the 
point  of  telling  him  she  knew  all.  But  her  anger 
surged  up  again,  she  could  not  forgive  him  ;  he  had 
chosen  to  act  a  crooked  part,  he  must  reap  as  he  had 
sown.  But  she  had  promised  herself  to  give  him  a 
word  of  warning  ;   that  he  should  have. 

*  Come,  Petros,'  she  said  at  length,  with  an 
assumed  lightness  of  manner,  *  bezique,  bezique. 
Really,  I  don't  know  that  a  cottage  on  the  moun- 
tains would  have  suited  me  well,  though  it  is  charm- 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.  141 

ing  of  you  to  suggest  it ;  you  would  not  have  loved 
to  find  me  thumbing  a  dirty  pack  of  cards  when 
I  should  have  been  mending  your  stockings.  There 
is  a  great  deal  to  be  said  for  the  position  of  the 
Princess  of  Rhodope.' 

He  took  her  hand  with  charming  courtesy  and 
kissed  it. 

*  And  who  can  say  enough  for  the  position  of  her 
husband  ?  '  he  asked. 

They  played  a  hand  or  two  with  the  luck  fairly 
divided,  and  Petros,  who  seemed  to  Sophia  to  have 
recaptured  his  skill,  was  a  considerable  winner  at 
the  end  of  an  hour.  But  shortly  after  that  he  held 
a  hand  for  which,  as  Sophia  declared,  the  world  was 
made.  He  had  early  in  the  game  declared  sequence 
six  times,  and  then  abandoned  it ;  he  had  three 
beziques  on  the  table  and  the  fourth  knave  of 
diamonds.  This  card  he  drew  in  some  eight  tricks 
before  the  end,  and  still  Sophia  had  not  seen  the 
corresponding  queen.  But  Petros's  heart  failed  him  ; 
he  scored  the  three  beziques  again  with  his  extra 
knave,  and  immediately  afterwards  drew  in  the  miss- 
ing queen. 

Sophia  was  aghast. 

'  Four  thousand  five  hundred  gone  to  the  dogs  !  ' 
she  exclaimed,  with  contempt.  '  Really,  Petros,  you 
are  beside  yourself.' 

*  It  was  a  fault  of  generalship,  I  admit,'  said  he. 
Sophia  looked  at  him  very  steadily.     This  was  a 

good  opening  for  what  she  had  to  say. 

'  Indeed,  Petros,  you  are  no  Napoleon,'  she  said. 


142  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  You  could  never,  never  carve  a  kingdom  for  your- 
self.' 

So  Petros  had  his  warning,  and  Sophia  hardened 
her  heart  against  him. 

As  Malakopf  had  suggested,  the  two  conspirators 
saw  somewhat  less  of  each  other  for  the  next  week 
or  two,  and  more  than  once  Sophia  thought — and, 
to  do  her  justice,  hoped — that  Petros  must  have 
taken  her  word  of  warning  to  heart.  But  his 
nauseating  little  tendernesses  and  solicitudes  for  her 
were  not  diminished,  and  she  found  him  infinitely 
disgusting.  He  was  acting  a  part,  of  that  she  was 
well  assured,  for  he  was  not,  she  knew,  a  man  to 
whom  caresses  are  habitual,  and  their  day  had  long 
since  been  over  between  them.  What,  then,  could 
this  recrudescence  of  an  exhibition  which  had  never 
been  natural  to  him  mean  but  that  he  wished  to  keep 
her  ever  surrounded  with  a  tinsel  counterfeit  of  love  ? 
And  for  what  reason  could  he  coin  its  tokens  in  such 
profusion,  except  that  he  wished  her  to  rest  as- 
sured of  his  unalterable  devotion  ?  The  man  was 
putrid. 

Two  days  after  this  the  Princess  and  her  husband 
dined  together  at  the  English  Legation.  Lord 
Abbotsworthy,  of  course,  took  the  Princess  in,  and 
on  her  other  side  sat  Malakopf.  As  usual,  he,  figura- 
tively speaking,  licked  the  ground  she  trod  on,  and, 
as  usual,  she  walked  with  her  tip-tilted  nose  in  the 
air,  as  if  he  had  been  a  disagreeable  smell.  But 
during  the  course  of  dinner  she  let  fall  a  few  words 
which    interested    him,  though  she    spoke    to    the 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         143 

Mirrister,   and  not  to  him,   but  she  intended   the 
words  for  his  ear,  and  he  sucked  them  greedily  in. 

*  I  shall  not  leave  Rhodope  till  October  this  year,' 
so  Malakopf  heard  her  say,  *  but  when  I  do  go,  I 
shall  be  away  three  months  at  the  least.  Petros  is 
so  admirable,  he  manages  affairs  much  better  than  I 
do,  and  it  really  gives  him  something  to  do.  More- 
over, I  have  the  completest  confidence  in  him,  and 
his  speeches,  I  believe,  are  considered  most  sensible. 
I  shall  spend  Christmas  in  England,  I  think,  with 
my  cousin.  England  is  often  delightful  at  Christ- 
mas, and  I  don't  suppose  I  shall  be  back  here  till 
half-way  through  January.  The  yacht  ?  Oh  yes  ;  I 
love  the  sea,  as  you  know.  I  shall  go  in  the  yacht. 
Poor  Petros  is  sea-sick — think  how  absurd  !  ' 

Malakopf  found  much  to  interest  him  in  this 
speech.  The  Princess's  long  absence  was  ideal  to 
his  wishes  ;  even  to  the  most  loyal  of  her  subjects 
a  thiee  months'  sojourn  abroad  would  appear  pro- 
tracted, a  trial  to  their  belief  in  her  unwavering 
devotion  to  their  welfare.  And  never  before,  in  his 
recollection,  had  the  monarch  been  absent  on  the 
occasion  of  the  great  royal  fete  on  New  Year's  Day, 
when  the  Princess  always  gave  an  immense  dance 
to  all  those  who  had  signed  their  names  in  her 
book,  and  a  great  banquet  in  the  Guildhall  to  the 
humbler  citizens  of  Rhodope.  There,  just  before 
midnight,  she  went  with  all  her  guests,  and  took 
her  stand  in  silence  under  the  clock,  while  the  great 
assemblage  waited,  finger  on  lip  and  glass  in  hand, 
for  the  New  Year  to  strike.     As  soon  as  the  twelve 


144  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

great  shocks  had  proclaimed  another  year,  she  drank 
prosperity  to  them  all,  and  broke  her  glass,  so  that 
no  one  again  might  drink  from  it.  She  herself  then 
mingled  with  the  crowd,  and  spoke  a  few  words  to 
everyone  she  came  across.  Her  wonderful  memory 
made  it  easy  for  her  to  recognise  hundreds  whom 
she  had  never  consciously  seen  except  on  this  night, 
and  a  word  of  inquiry  after  son  or  daughter  made 
many  hearts  beat  proudly. 

Likewise,  if  the  Princess  was  away  for  December, 
the  duty  of  proroguing  Parhament  would  fall  on 
Petros.  The  Assembly  always  rose  from  its  autumn 
Session  the  week  before  Christmas,  but  it  was  not 
formally  prorogued  till  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day 
of  December.  On  that  day  all  Members  attended 
in  Court  dress,  and  from  the  throne  the  Princess 
made  a  speech,  thanking  them  for  their  labours  in 
the  past  year.  As  representative  of  her,  Petros 
would  speak  from  her  seat,  and  Malakopf  made  a 
mental  note  that  a  somewhat  telling  scene  might  be 
planned  for  this  occasion,  and  that  Petros  also 
would  see  a  great  opportunity. 

They  left  the  dining-room,  foreign  fashion,  all 
together,  each  man  giving  his  arm  to  the  woman 
he  had  taken  in,  and  as  the  Princess  no  longer 
objected  even  to  the  taste  of  smoke,  there  Was  no 
segregation  of  men  when  they  reached  the  drawing- 
room.  But  after  a  few  words  with  one  and  another 
of  the  guests,  she  beckoned  to  Lady  Blanche,  and 
the  two  sat  down  in  a  corner  of  the  drawing-room 
somewhat  apart  from  the  others. 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.  145 

Malakopf  had  an  uneasy  moment  when  he  saw 
this,  but  already  in  his  own  mind  he  had  advanced 
matters  so  far  that  it  did  not  matter  much  what 
the  Princess  did,  and  running  rapidly  over  his  con- 
versation with  Lady  Blanche,  he  found  no  tangible 
cause  for  disquietude. 

'  Blanche,'  said  Sophia,  speaking  in  English,  '  I 
have  made  my  plans.  You  have  to  help  me,  so 
please  be  very  intelligent.' 

'  What  has  happened  ?  '  asked  Blanche, 

'  I  have  given  Petros  his  warning,  and  that  is 
over.  His  silence  made  me  sure  that  he  knew  what 
I  meant.  I  told  him  he  was  no  Napoleon,  to  carve 
himself  a  kingdom.  But  his  odious  little  attentions 
to  me,  which  I  imagine  are  performed  at  Malakopf's 
bidding,  continue,  and  I  think  he  has  made  up  his 
mind  not  to  take  warning.  Tant  pis,  for  I  do  not 
give  him  another  chance.  You  will  hardly  believe 
it,  but  the  other  night,  only,  he  made  crawly  little 
sentimental  speeches  to  me,  though  we  have  done 
with  that  sort  of  thing  long  ago.  He  said  he  wished 
we  had  been  a  poor  couple  in  a  cottage,  and  he 
kissed  my  hand.     The  flesh  of  me  crept.' 

'  That  looks  like  Malakopf,'  said  Blanche. 

'  Well,  enough  of  Petros,'  went  on  Sophia.  '  To- 
night I  talked  rather  loud  to  your  father,  so  that 
Malakopf  could  hear.  I  told  him  I  should  leave 
Rhodope  in  October,  and  not  come  back  till  the 
middle  of  January.' 

'  But  the  New  Year  fete  ?  '  asked  Blanche. 

'  Well,  I  deceived  your  father.     I  expect  I  shall 


146  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

be  in  Amandos  before  then  ;  to  speak  more  exactly, 
I  expect  to  be  back  on  December  the  thirty-first. 
However,  that  shall  be  seen.  Now,  before  I  go,  I 
shall  give  you  the  cipher  which  I  use  with  Petros, 
and  I  want  to  be  accurately  informed  day  by  day 
how  things  are  going.  I  will  tell  your  father  that 
I  shall  be  in  correspondence  with  you,  and  ask 
him  to  send  off  your  telegrams  direct  from  the 
Legation,  for  Malakopf  is  cunning  enough  to  sus- 
pect something  if  he  finds  you  constantly  sending 
despatches  to  me.  Indeed,  he  looked  a  little  sus- 
picious just  now,  when  he  saw  me  sit  down  and 
talk  to  you.' 

'  It  is  too  dangerous,'  said  Blanche.  '  Dear 
Sophia,  don't  go  away  for  so  long  ;  anything  may 
happen  in  so  long  an  absence.' 

'It  will  be  your  business  to  warn  me,'  said  the 
Princess.  '  I  have  laid  my  plan  carefully.  You 
must  learn  as  much  as  you  can  about  the  Prince's 
and  Malakopf's  little  schemes,  and  I  will  return  at 
a  word  from  you.  I  shall  not  go  to  England  for 
Christmas,  as  I  told  your  father,  but  be  much  nearer 
home.  By  Christmas,  indeed,  I  think  I  shall  be  at 
Corfu,  so  that  I  can  get  back  here  in  a  few  hours. 
Conveniently  enough,  the  Empress  has  asked  me  to 
stay  with  her  there,  and  she  will  be  incognito,  and 
so,  of  course,  shall  I.  The  sailors  of  the  Felatrune 
alone  will  know  I  am  here,  and  I  can  rely  on  their 
absolute  silence.  Oh,  it  will  be  as  exciting  as  a  run 
of  luck  !  '  she  cried. 

*  Ah,  I  see,'  said  Blanche,  '  you  mean  that  you 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         147 

expect  Malakopf  will  make  the  scene  on  the  day  the 
Assembly  is  prorogued  ?  ' 

'  That  seems  to  me  a  Heaven-sent  opportunity  for 
him,'  remarked  Sophia.  '  Yet  perhaps  Satan  were 
the  more  appropriate  derivative.' 

Blanche  burst  out  laughing — every  now  and  then 
Sophia,  in  spite  of  her  great  knowledge  of  English, 
would  use  a  sentence  of  a  style  hopelessly  pompous, 
thinking  to  utter  a  crowning  colloquialism — and  her 
laugh  closed  the  conversation.  Sophia  rose,  and, 
with  mock  resentment  in  her  voice,  '  I  had  more  to 
say  to  you,'  she  remarked,  '  but  I  will  not  be  laughed 
at.  But  I  have  told  you  all  that  is  really  important, 
and  with  you  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  things  twice. 
Dear  Blanche,  is  it  true  that  Lord  Abbotsworthy  has 
hired  Pierre  and  a  roulette-board  for  this  evening  ? 
How  touching  an  attention  !  A  mark  of  true  hos- 
pitality.' 

'  Pierre  is  waiting  for  your  Highness,'  said  Blanche, 
seeing  that  Malakopf  had  drawn  near  them.  '  Will 
you  go  to  the  card-room  ?  ' 

Thus  it  came  about  that  Sophia  was  not  unaware 
of  the  conspiracy  which  was  on  foot  against  her. 
She  had  given  her  husband  fair  warning,  and  since 
he  persisted  in  his  childish  policy  of  surrounding  her 
with  a  hundred  lover-hke  attentions,  she  thought  it 
excusable  and  wise  to  have  a  poHcy  too.  Some- 
times she  was  almost  stirred  to  pity  at  the  futility 
of  his  efforts  to  blind  her,  while  her  own  seeming 
security  was  so  illegible  to  him.  She  accentuated, 
if  possible,  her  distaste  of  State  affairs.     Half  of  the 


148  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

twenty-four  hours  she  spent  at  the  tables  of  the 
club  ;  she  yawned  behind  her  hand  at  the  most 
important  and  confidential  communications  of  her 
Ministers  ;  she  was  even  less  civil  than  usual  (and 
her  civility  to  Malakopf  was  never  remarkable)  to 
her  Prime  Minister.  It  is  true  that  she  had  the 
easier  part  to  play,  for  while  Petros  fished  up  little 
attentions  and  an  affectionate  demeanour  to  her, 
as  a  man  draws  water  from  a  deep  well,  with  an 
effort,  she  had  but  to  let  her  natural  inclinations, 
her  distaste  of  Malakopf,  her  taste  for  play,  her 
ennui  at  infinitesimal  State  concerns  go  unreined. 

The  effect  of  all  this  was  that  the  conferences  be- 
tween her  husband  and  the  Prime  Minister  lapsed 
into  their  former  frequency,  and  not  a  day  passed 
but  they  were  closeted  together.  Even  the  astuter 
Malakopf,  lulled  into  security  by  the  Princess's 
negligence  of  State  matters,  no  longer  went  through 
the  formality  of  asking  for  her  when  he  wished  to 
confer  with  the  Crown.  Yet  the  situation  was  more 
critical  than  she  knew.  Already  there  was  a  party 
in  the  House  almost  hostile  to  her,  for  the  sedulity 
with  which  she  kept  her  seat  in  the  club,  when  she 
should  have  been  in  the  Council  Chamber,  though 
successful  in  its  object,  namely,  that  of  giving  in- 
creased confidence  to  the  two  main  actors  in  the 
conspiracy,  had  had  a  certain  effect  in  alienating 
from  her  many  of  her  more  sober-minded  deputies. 
They  saw  with  pain  her  unreasonable  passion  for 
the  cards  and  her  total  neglect  of  the  duties  of  a 
reigning  monarch.     They  saw  with  silent  sympathy 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         149 

the  heroic  efforts  of  the  Prince  to  cover  the  deficien- 
cies of  his  wife.  Himself  well  equipped  as  a  debater, 
he  was  primed  and  loaded  by  Malakopf,  and  his 
contributions  to  the  debates  were  an  edification. 
Yet  the  Princess  played  her  part  with  consummate 
skill,  and  she  trusted  to  the  loyalty  of  the  people 
to  back  her  up  when  the  great  scene  came.  Her 
yawns  were  the  picture  of  realistic  art,  her  in- 
tolerance of  Malakopf  a  triumph  of  sincerity. 
Thereby  the  caution  of  the  Prime  Minister  was  slowly 
and  insidiously  relaxed,  and  the  four  years  he  had 
originally  given  to  the  dynasty  were  much  abbrevi- 
ated in  his  mind  ;  for  in  its  sinister  depths  he  was 
revolving  a  new  and  startling  idea,  suggested  to  him 
by  the  Princess's  absence.  In  itself  it  was  so  simple 
that  he  almost  distrusted  it  ;  but  as  the  days  went 
on  it  grew  more  and  more  seductive. 

August  cooled  into  September,  and  the  day  of 
the  Princess's  departure  for  her  necessary  holiday 
was  fixed  for  October  7.  It  was  tacitly  understood 
between  her  and  Petros  that  the  Prince  would  not 
accompany  her,  and  such  had  been  the  success  of 
his  Regency  the  year  before  that  now  Sophia  begged 
him  never  to  send  her  anything  referring,  however 
remotely,  to  State  matters. 

'  I  am  sick  of  the  sceptre  !  '  she  said  to  him  the 
day  before  she  left ;  '  and  you,  Petros,  are  still 
rather  fond  of  it.  Oh,  you  remind  me  so  much  of  a 
child  dressing  up  in  Court  finery  ;  when  it  comes  to 
put  the  finery  on  in  earnest,  how  bored  it  is  1  And 
you,  Petros,  if  ever  you  held  the  sceptre  in  your 


150  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

own  name,  you  would  find  it  a  bad  companion  of 
your  days  and  nights.  Sometimes  I  am  almost 
tempted  to  abdicate  this  throne  of  Rhodope,  yet 
what  sort  of  private  person  should  I  make  ?  I  am 
a  Princess  of  royal  blood  ;  I  cannot  help  it ;  and 
the  burden  will  be  with  me  always.' 

'  How  can  you  say  such  things,  dearest !  '  said 
Petros,  with  well-simulated  Warmth.  '  It  is  an  idle 
modesty  that  makes  you  seem  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
adoration  with  which  your  subjects — I  the  humblest 
— regard  you.  Which  of  them,  think  you,  would  not 
willingly  die  for  you  ?  True,  you  could  never  be  a 
private  person,  any  more  than  a  farmer's  wife  could 
be  a  queen,  though  she  thinks  she  could.' 

'  Well,  therein  I  am  better  than  the  farmer's  wife,' 
sighed  Sophia.  '  She  thinks  she  could  be  me  ;  I 
know  I  could  not  be  her.  But  let  me  have  a  good 
hohday,  Petros  ;  don't  send  me  anything  to  sign  or 
to  consider.  Consider  everything  yourself,  and  sign 
what  you  please  ;  and  get  through  all  the  business 
you  possibly  can,  so  that  there  will  not  be  so  much 
next  Session.' 

'  You  must  give  me  more  explicit  instructions, 
dear,'  said  the  Prince.  '  It  is  not  likely  that  any 
measure  of  great  importance  will  come  before  the 
House,  but  what  am  I  to  do  about  proroguing  it  ? 
You  will  hardly  wish  me  to  deliver  the  Speech  from 
the  Throne  ?  ' 

'  And  why  not,  dear  Petros  ?  '  said  she. 

She  Was  sitting  in  a  deep  armchair  in  shadow, 
fanning  herself  slowly,  he  under  the  full  light  of  a 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         151 

lamp,  and  as  she  spoke  she  leaned  back  and  watched 
his  face  intently.  She  saw  his  eye  brighten,  a  flush 
steal  over  his  face,  and  his  right  hand  clenched,  as  if 
it  already  held  the  sceptre. 

'  Why  not,  Petros  ?  '  she  repeated. 

'  Because  that  is  so  essentially  the  prerogative  of 
the  Crown,'  he  said.  '  How  am  I  to  thank  your 
Ministers  for  their  labours  ?     In  whose  name  ?  ' 

'  In  your  own  name,'  she  said  ;  '  for,  indeed  ' — 
and  she  laughed  quietly  to  herself — '  you  have  had 
far  more  to  thank  them  for,  or  curse  them  for,  this 
last  year  than  I.  It  is  far  more  suitable  that  you 
should  do  it.     I  am  sure  you  will  do  it  admirably.' 

Again  his  hand  clenched,  and  again  Sophia  ob- 
served his  face  light  up.  She  rose  with  bitter  aver- 
sion in  her  heart. 

*  Thus  no  long  explanations  are  necessary,'  she 
said.  '  Act  as  if  you  were  me.  I  shall  be  back 
before  the  end  of  January.  And  now,  Petros,  you 
must  leave  me  ;  I  have  some  little  affairs  to  settle 
before  I  dress  for  dinner.  Kindly  ring  the  bell  for 
me.' 

He  rang,  and,  advancing  to  her,  bowed  and 
kissed  her  hand. 

'  My  Queen,'  he  murmured. 

Sophia  stood  silent,  and  watched  his  graceful 
exit ;  then  she  took  her  handkerchief,  and  rubbed 
the  place  where  his  lips  had  touched.  Next  mo- 
ment the  groom  of  the  chamber  entered. 

*  Go  to  the  English  Legation,'  she  said,  '  and  tell 
Lady  Blanche  that  I  shall  come  to  see  her  to-night 


152  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

after  dinner.     Leave  the  message  with  her  ;  see  her 
yourself.' 

The  Princess  left  Mavromati  next  day  on  the 
Felatrune.  With  her  went  the  little  Prince  Leonard, 
and  Petros  saw  them  off.  He  went  on  board  with 
his  wife,  but  parted  from  her  as  soon  as  they  gained 
the  ship,  for  she  was  to  start  at  once.  Once  more 
pity  for  this  treacherous  man,  for  so  she  certainly 
regarded  him,  touched  her. 

'  I  leave  you  with  the  fullest  confidence,'  she  said. 
'  I  feel  sure  you  will  be  a  faithful  steward  for  me  and 
my  child.' 

But  Petros's  hypocrisy  was  not  finished  enough 
to  suggest  a  reply,  and  he  left  her  in  silence. 

That  night,  while  the  Felatrune  ploughed  her 
moonlit  way  southwards  over  the  dim  waters  of  the 
sleeping  Adriatic,  Malakopf  dined  at  the  Palace. 
Indeed,  the  two  conspirators,  to  the  best  of  their 
knowledge,  had  solid  ground  for  self-congratulation. 
From  their  point  of  view,  the  Princess's  conduct 
had  been  impeccable,  and  the  precision  with  which 
she  had  played  into  their  hands  was  admirable. 
The  hours  of  her  attendance  at  the  Assembly  dur- 
ing the  past  summer  could  almost  be  reckoned  on 
the  fingers  of  a  one-armed  man ;  the  hours  of  her 
presence  at  the  club  were  more  like  in  number  to 
the  stars  of  heaven.  To  crown  all  this,  she  had 
now  left  the  kingdom  at  a  time  when  its  affairs  were 
in  the  full  bustle  of  transaction,  and,  what  would 
tell  against  her  even  more  in  the  eyes  of  the  public, 
she  had  decided  to  be  absent  on  the  great  festal 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTERPLOTS.  153 

day  of  the  year.  Malakopf  had  had  the  wit  to 
see  how  skilful  was  the  bait  she  had  prepared, 
how  admirable  its  convenience  to  their  plans ;  he 
only  failed  to  grasp  the  little  fact  that  it  was 
bait. 

The  club  which  the  Princess  had  inaugurated  wit-h 
such  brilliance  in  May  had  thrived  in  a  way  that 
even  she  could  scarce  have  anticipated.  Originally 
the  playing-rooms  had  been  open  only  from  three  in 
the  afternoon  till  three  in  the  morning  ;  but  a  few 
months  afterwards  its  session  never  rose.  The 
gambling  instinct  in  the  people,  for  so  many  years 
void  of  fruition,  shot  up  like  the  aloe  flower  ;  already 
to  tamper  with  the  inalienable  right  of  the  people 
of  Rhodope  to  gamble  in  public  rooms  would  have 
been  more  dangerous  than  to  attempt  to  make  penal 
in  England  cold  baths  or  the  game  of  golf ;  and  it 
was  the  most  skilful  stroke  that  the  ingenuity  of 
the  devil  could  have  devised  when  Malakopf  at- 
tempted by  this  very  means  to  dethrone  Sophia 
from  her  popularity. 

'  It  has  occurred  to  you,'  said  the  Prime  Minister 
that  evening,  when  he  and  Petros  were  smoking, 
'  that  the  Princess  will  be  absent  from  Rhodope  on 
the  day  that  the  Assembly  is  prorogued  ?  ' 

'  I  have  talked  to  her  about  that,'  said  Petros. 
'  It  seemed  to  me  very  irregular  ;  but  she  told  me 
how  to  act.' 

'  Indeed  !  May  I  have  the  benefit  of  your  con- 
versation ?  ' 

'  She  wished  me  to  take  her  place  absolutely,' 


154  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

said  Petros  ;    '  to  speak  from  the  throne  not  in  her 
name,  but  in  my  own.' 

'  Admirable ! — nothing  could  be  better,'  said 
Malakopf.  '  It  did  not  occur  to  you,  I  am  afraid, 
to  get  that  in  black  and  white  ?  ' 

*  The  Princess  does  not  go  back  on  her  word,' 
said  Petros  rather  stiffly. 

'  True  ;  but  I  should  have  preferred  black  and 
white.  Pnidence  can  never  be  at  fault.  But  we 
have  our  hands  full.' 

He  paused,  and  decided  to  tell  the  Prince  of  the 
plan  that  he  had  been  maturing. 

'  By  the  thirty-first  of  December  the  fruit  must  be 
ripe  for  the  plucking,'  he  said.  '  1  shall  introduce 
a  Bill  next  month  to  shut  up  all  gambling-houses  in 
Rhodope,  and  to  make  even  betting  an  offence. 
What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  ' 

Again  he  looked  at  the  Prince  to  see  what  he 
would  make  of  this.     Petros  fairly  recoiled. 

'  It  is  impossible,'  he  said;  '  there  will  be  a  rev- 
olution.' 

'  True,  there  will  be  a  revolution  ;  but  I  thought 
we  were  working  to  bring  that  about.' 

'  But  it  is  insane,  this  idea  of  yours,'  said  Petros. 
*  What  line  am  I  to  take,  for  instance  ?  Am  I  to 
oppose  you  ?  for  if  I  do  not,  my  chances  are  gone. 
Unless  I  speak  against  your  Bill,  the  people  will 
have  none  of  me  ;  and  if  I  speak  for  it,  where  is  our 
combination  ?  ' 

Malakopf  smiled  grimly. 

'  I  thought  you  did  not  see  how  valuable  was  the 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         155 

Princess's  command  to  you  to  act  absolutely  in  her 
name,  or  why  I  should  have  preferred  it  in  black  and 
white.  That  command  is  simply  the  coping-stone 
of  my  structure.  You  will  vote  for  the  Bill,  of 
course  ;  but  you  will  speak  against  it.  Heaven  !  is 
it  possible  you  are  so  slow  ?  Oh,  do  you  not  see  ? 
Reluctantly,  regretfully,  but  with  unimpeachable 
loyalty,  you  will  find  yourself  obliged  to  act  in  her 
absence,  as  she  would  have  you  act,  as  she  told  you 
to  act.  She  could  not  face  the  situation  herself ; 
she  has  run  away,  and  she  has  left  you  behind  to 
face  the  odium  of  her  deed.  All  will  vote  against 
the  Prince,  as  the  representative  of  his  unworthy 
wi  e  ;  but  what  sympathy  there  will  be  for  Petros  ! 
As  for  your  wife,  she  will  at  once  become  the  most 
unpopular  woman  in  Rhodope.  The  people  like 
their  gambling,  and  they  will  not  have  that  stopped, 
you  may  be  sure  ;  but  they  are  brave,  and  they  do 
not  like  running  away.  Why,  man,  it  is  the  very 
opportunity  for  the  speech  you  planned  so  long  ago  ! ' 

Prince  Petros  had  risen  from  his  seat,  and  was 
pacing  up  and  down  the  room  excitedly. 

'  I  see — I  see,'  he  cried.  '  Yes,  it  is  a  splendid 
idea ;  it  is  of  the  best.  I  stand  corrected  ;  but 
would  it  not  be  even  more  telling  if  I  introduced 
the  Bill  myself  in  her  name  ?  As  you  know,  any 
Bill  introduced  by  the  Crown  is  carried.' 

'  But  we  do  not  want  the  Bill  to  be  carried,'  said 
Malakopf.  '  We  want  it  thrown  out  by  an  im- 
mense majority.  The  minority,  in  fact,  I  expect 
will  consist  of  yourself.' 


156  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

But  the  Prince's  suggestion  had  more  in  it  than 
Malakopf  perceived  at  once,  and  than  the  Prince 
perceived  at  all.  Any  Bill — such  was  the  auto- 
cratic law  of  Rhodope — introduced  by  the  Crown 
passed  into  law.  The  privilege  had  rarely  been 
used,  and  this  prerogative  was  practically  obsolete ; 
but  there  could  be  no  doubt,  as  the  Prince  said, 
that  the  Crown  was  constitutionally  within  its 
rights  in  so  acting.  Thus,  if  Prince  Petros  intro- 
duced the  Bill  in  the  Princess's  name,  and  stuck  to 
it,  it  could  only  fail  to  become  law  by  a  recon- 
stitution  of  the  power  of  the  Crown — in  other  words, 
by  a  revolution.  In  this  way  Malakopf  would  be 
rid  not  only  of  the  Princess,  but  also  of  the  Prince, 
who,  despite  his  speech  against  it,  would  have 
voted  for  it.  This  formed  part  of  his  original, 
but  at  present  undetailed,  programme,  and  he 
was  fairly  astounded  at  the  fitness  of  his  opportunity. 
He  could  kill  both  with  one  stone.  So,  after  a 
moment,  he  corrected  himself. 

'  But  I  am  not  sure,'  he  said,  '  that  you  are  not 
right  after  all.  Perhaps  yours  is  the  simpler  plan, 
for  it  makes  a  revolution  inevitable.  I  will  think  it 
over.  Meanwhile,  may  I  ask  for  a  whisky-and- 
soda  ?     The  night  is  hot  for  this  time  of  the  year.' 

The  two  were  sitting  on  the  great  north  veranda 
of  the  Palace.  The  air  was  exquisitely  fresh,  with 
an  easterly  breeze,  though  still,  as  Malakopf  had 
said,  warm  for  October.  But  a  divine  mellowness" 
is  over  October  in  Rhodope,  the  sky  is  a  perfect 
turquoise  from  sunrise  to  sunset,   and  to  sunrise 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.  157 

again  an  inimitable  sapphire.  The  French  season 
was  at  its  height,  and  a  band  from  the  Casino 
gardens  close  by  made  the  night  an  echo  of  the 
brain  of  Weber.  The  moon,  swung  full  south,  cast 
a  great  square  of  shadow  from  the  Palace  over  the 
garden,  and  the  metallic  tinkle  of  the  water  from 
the  bronze  Triton  fountain  falling  into  its  basin 
came  from  the  darkness.  Beyond,  a  balustrade 
of  Pentelic  marble  bounded  the  headlong  cliff  below, 
and  in  the  hollow  beneath  the  lamps  of  Amandos 
twinkled  innumerably.  On  the  great  range  of  Balkan 
peaks  to  the  north  the  earliest  snow  of  the  year 
had  already  fallen,  and  the  giants  of  the  range 
were  silver  spearheads  charging  the  sky.  To  the 
west,  twelve  miles  away,  the  lights  of  Mavromati, 
low  on  the  horizon  and  small  as  a  glow-worm,  were 
more  like  a  reflection  of  stars  than  an  authentic 
constellation.  But  from  minute  to  minute  a 
luminous  pencil  of  colour,  now  scarlet,  now  red, 
now  yellow,  shot  with  penetrating  clearness  across 
the  land,  and  even  dyed  the  white  Palace  walls 
for  a  moment  in  its  passage,  marking  the  rotation 
of  the  harbour  lights.  The  murmur  of  busy  folk 
buzzed  like  the  swarming  of  bees  from  the  town, 
and  now  and  again  a  sudden  shriller  note  betokened 
some  infinitesimal  excitement  of  the  street. 

But  the  perfection  of  the  Southern  night  roused 
no  echo  in  the  heart  of  Petros  ;  his  thoughts  were 
intent  on  himself.  Little  he  recked  of  the  ebony 
shadows,  the  white  fields  of  moonshine,  the  beauty 
of  the  muffled  sounds  of  the  night,  and  in  so  far 


158  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

as  they  reached  him,  they  reached  him,  only  by  the 
sense  of  lordship.  Soon,  he  thought,  would  the 
polychrome  light  from  Mavromati  be  his ;  his,  too, 
would  be  the  cicala  that  sang  in  the  bushes  ;  his  the 
luminous  evidence  of  mankind  that  shone  from  the 
lights  of  Amandos.  For  his  outlook  was  but  puny  ; 
nothing  was  great  if  it  was  not  his,  nothing  was 
beautiful  unless  it  owned  his  supremacy.  Nor  was 
Malakopf  more  poetically-minded  :  the  spearheads 
of  the  Balkan  were  only  interesting  because  the  map 
of  Europe  traced  across  that  untracked  whiteness 
the  boundaries  of  Rhodope  ;  the  strains  of  Weber 
that  came  from  the  club  gardens  were  only  beauti- 
ful because  he  had  invested  a  large  sum  of  money 
in  the  Casino,  and  music  was  an  attraction  to  the 
visitors.  Once  President  of  this  Republic  of  Rho- 
dope, he  would  have  willingly  driven  the  snow- 
plough  across  the  Balkans  to  mark  the  limits  of 
his  Presidency,  if  thereby  he  could  add  an  acre  to 
its  mileage,  and  painted  the  country  magenta  to 
correspond  with  the  latest  map. 

But  though  the  glory  of  the  Southern  night  gave 
him  no  food  for  admiration,  the  last  suggestion  of 
the  Prince  was  worth  the  expenditure  of  brain  tissue, 
and  the  more  he  considered  it,  the  more  suitable  did 
the  Prince's  unwitting  scheme  appear.  It  would 
be  necessary,  it  is  true,  to  alter  the  proposed  chron- 
ology of  events,  and  reserve  for  the  last  meeting 
of  the  Assembly  before  the  Christmas  holiday  the 
introduction  of  the  new  Bill.  The  House  should 
not  be  asked  to  vote  on  that  day  ;    the  Bill  alone 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         159 

should  be  read,  and  notice  given  that  the  voting 
would  take  place  immediately  before  the  proroga- 
tion on  December  31. 

The  thought  of  the  scene  which  would  take  place 
on  that  day  almost  dazzled  him.  The  Assembly 
at  Rhodope  had  never  been,  since  he  had  known 
it  first,  a  House  of  melodrama.  But  on  December 
31  the  scene  would  surely  beggar  the  Adelphi  Theatre, 
London.  From  the  throne  the  Prince  would  make 
a  regretful,  and  no  doubt  a  very  foolish,  speech  on 
this  Bill  for  abolishing  all  gambling  within  the 
principality,  and  since  he,  as  Sophia's  representative, 
introduced  the  Bill,  the  Assembly  would,  on  prece- 
dent and  constitution,  record  indeed  their  votes, 
but,  however  the  voting  went,  would  be  compelled 
to  accept  it.  But  he  knew  them  very  little  if  such 
was  the  event.  In  his  speech  the  Prince  would, 
as  Malakopf  had  planned  the  scene,  be  forced  to 
support  the  wishes  and  the  commands  of  his  wife. 
She,  so  he  would  say,  had  intended  to  introduce 
the  Bill  herself,  but  had  been  unable  to  face  the 
situation,  and  had  left  the  doing  of  it  to  him.  All 
her  subjects  knew  that  she  had  opened  the  club 
herself,  knew  also  the  assiduity  with  which  she 
attended  its  sessions.  With  what  face  now  was 
she  to  order  its  abolition,  when  the  institution  had 
taken  such  deep  hold  on  her  people  ?  But  her 
purpose  was  irrevocably  fixed.  Abolished  it  should 
be,  and  she  claimed  (through  her  husband)  the 
ancient  right  of  the  Crown.  For  a  week  past  there 
would  have  been  but  one  subject  for  talk  in  the 


i6o  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

principality ;  indignation  would  have  flared  like 
a  bonfire  since  the  Bill  had  been  introduced.  Half 
Rhodope  spent  rapturous  evenings  in  the  Casino  ; 
they  would  not  lightly  give  them  up.  But  the 
Prince,  as  primed  by  Malakopf,  would  speak  with 
strength  and  conviction.  He  would  commit  him- 
self hopelessly  to  a  policy  of  loyalty  to  his  wife. 
His  position  (he  would  say)  was  most  trying,  but 
he  was  bound  by  every  code  of  honour  to  support 
without  reservation  her  whom  he  represented. 
Such  were  her  commands.  The  Bill  was  intro- 
duced by  the  Crown  ;  let  them  vote  if  they  pleased  ; 
the  measure  became  law. 

Malakopf's  eye  glowed.  He  saw  himself  rise 
before  the  assembled  House,  and  to  the  Prince's 
dumb  and  infinite  dismay,  oppose  the  Bill.  Such 
a  course,  he  knew,  was  without  shadow  of  pre- 
cedent. He  would  adopt  it  without  attempt  at 
excuse.  He  would  denounce  the  Princess.  As 
they  all  knew,  she  spent  her  holidays  at  Monte 
Carlo — much  needed  holidays,  indeed  !  She  was 
worn  out,  was  she  not,  with  the  prosecution  of 
State  affairs !  His  brother  ministers  knew  how 
wide  and  numerous  were  the  yawns  with  which 
she  honoured  their  audiences.  The  Bill  could  not 
become  law  ;  simply  it  was  one  of  the  things  that 
did  not  happen.  Yet  it  must  become  law  unless 
they  took  a  line  of  their  own.  On  his  part,  he 
begged  to  move  that  the  question  of  the  Bill 
before  the  House  be  postponed  a  moment,  for  he 
had  another  proposal  to  make.     The  House  (so  he 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.  i6i 

told  himself  in  these  imaginings)  would  vote  on 
the  postponement  of  the  Bill  for  the  abolition  of 
gambling  ;  the  House  would  carry  it.  Then  he 
would  propose  nothing  short  of  a  revolution,  the 
dethronement  of  the  line  of  ^gina,  who,  in  the 
person  of  the  Princess,  sought  to  curtail  the 
inalienable  right  of  gambling  inaugurated  by  her- 
self. In  this,  and  in  no  other  way,  could  liberty  be 
secured  them. 

But  it  was  far  better  that  the  Bill,  if  such  was  to 
be  his  policy,  should  be  introduced  just  before  the 
Christmas  vacation,  and  that  no  voting  should  take 
place  till  the  last  day  of  December,  to  give  a  whole 
week  for  the  fermentation  of  righteous  wrath  to 
come  to  a  head.  And  it  would  not  be  a  bad  thing 
to  let  a  hint  of  what  was  coming  be  in  the  air,  to 
let  the  free  spirit  of  the  citizens  chafe  at  the  thought 
of  so  grievous  a  curtailment  of  their  liberties,  to 
let  Distrust  flap  its  obscene  wings  about  the  streets. 
Again  his  own  investment  in  the  club  itself  had 
turned  out  most  profitable,  for  the  half-year's 
dividend  had  been  declared  at  20  per  cent.  This, 
too,  he  had  no  mind  to  lose. 

By  the  beginning  of  December  it  was  already  a 
matter  for  street-corner  gossip  as  to  whether  there 
was  any  truth  in  this  extraordinary  report  that 
the  Princess  Sophia  would  introduce  by  the  mouth 
of  her  husband  a  Bill  for  the  abolition  of  gambling. 
To  most  the  thing  seemed  scarcely  credible,  and  the 
more  loyal  of  her  subjects  flatly  refused  to  entertain 
so  preposterous  a  suggestion.     It  was  inconceivable 

6 


i62  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

that  the  queen  of  gamblers  should  attempt  to 
deprive  her  subjects  of  the  right  to  indulge  in  her 
own  favourite  pursuit,  and  it  was  bitter  to  con- 
template her  at  Monte  Carlo  directing  from  the 
St.  Peter's  of  the  goddess  the  closing  of  this  remote 
little  chapel.  Others,  who  pretended  to  more 
authentic  information,  declared  that  she  was 
acting  under  the  persuasion  of  the  Prince,  who,  as 
it  was  well  known,  did  not  frequent  the  club,  and 
though  he  had  invested  in  it,  rather  disapproved 
of  it  than  otherwise.  By  degrees  this  view  of  the 
question  obtained  a  following,  and  as  it  grew  by 
so  much  the  popularity  of  the  Prince  waned  and 
the  delight  of  Malakopf  waxed.  Petros  had  never 
been  seen  at  the  club  since  his  wife's  departure, 
and  this  alone  was  sufficient  to  raise  a  prejudice 
against  him.  The  air  was  full  of  disquietude,  which 
increased  as  the  days  went  on. 

This  disquietude  was  only  not  shared  by  Mala- 
kopf ;  indeed,  the  Fates  seemed  to  be  propitious 
for  him.  Sophia  away,  the  odium  of  the  proposed 
change  gradually  attaching  to  the  Prince — no 
combination  of  circumstances  could  have  been 
luckier.  The  exact  execution  of  his  great  stroke 
must  be  largely  left  for  the  future  to  decide,  but 
at  present  things  were  working  out  just  as  he 
desired.  He  was  studious  to  keep  the  Prince  un- 
aware, as  far  as  might  be,  of  the  growing  feeling 
against  him,  for  fear  he  might  turn  craven  at  the 
end,  and  not  give  him  his  full  opportunity. 

Meantime  Lady  Blanche  kept  an  eager  eye  on  the 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         163 

development  of  the  situation,  and  noted  every  chop 
and  change  of  popular  feeling.  She  had  already 
telegraphed  to  Sophia  the  rumour  of  the  Bill, 
advising  her  to  leave  Monte  Carlo  instantly,  so  as 
to  be  nearer  at  hand,  in  case  of  any  precipitation 
of  events.  The  Princess  had  telegraphed  back  that 
she  was  on  the  point  of  leaving,  and  said  that  her 
next  address  would  be  at  the  Empress'  Villa  in 
Corfu,  where  she  would  be  known  to  the  postal 
authorities  as  the  Countess  of  ^gina.  As  there 
was  plenty  of  time  for  a  letter  to  reach  her  before 
her  arrival,  Lady  Blanche  wrote  to  her  at  length, 
describing  the  exact  condition  of  affairs,  and  re- 
commending her  to  keep  steam  up  on  her  yacht, 
since  there  was  no  knowing  when  the  crisis  would 
come.  It  seemed  probable,  however,  as  it  was 
now  definitely  announced  that  the  Bill  would  be 
introduced  on  the  day  before  the  Christmas  vaca- 
tion, but  that  no  voting  would  take  place  then,  nor 
any  speech  from  Prince  Petros,  that  the  last  day  of 
December  was  the  date  determined  by  the  two 
conspirators  for  their  grand  coup. 

The  Bill  was  to  be  read,  so  Malakopf  and  Prince 
Petros  had  planned  it,  immediately  before  the 
adjournment  of  the  House  for  the  Christmas  vaca- 
tion. After  reading  it,  the  Prince  would  simply  give 
notice  that  the  voting  on  the  Bill  would  take  place 
on  December  31,  after  which  the  House  would  rise. 
He  would  then  return  straight  to  the  Palace,  and  as 
far  as  possible,  so  Malakopf  advised,  keep  there  till 
the  day  for  the  debate  came  on.     There  was  sure 


i64  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

to  be  a  considerable  public  excitement,  and  the 
Prince's  speech,  in  which  he  would  tell  them  that 
his  wife  had  strictly  laid  on  him  the  communication 
of  this  calamitous  and  regrettable  resolution,  would 
come  with  redoubled  force  if  he  had  been  known 
to  have  shut  himself  up  under  the  painful  stress  of 
his  feelings. 

The  day  for  the  reading  of  the  Bill  arrived,  and 
the  House  was  packed.  The  business  of  the  day 
was  transacted  with  immense  indifference  and 
rapidity,  and  when  it  was  finished  a  dead  dense 
silence  fell  on  the  Assembly.  Then  Prince  Petros 
rose  from  the  throne,  and  stepped  forward  to  the 
edge  of  the  little  platform,  where  sat  the  monarch 
and  the  Ministers. 

'  Gentlemen,'  he  said,  '  Her  Royal  Highness  the 
Princess  Sophia  has  bid  me  read  to  you  the  text  of 
a  Bill  she  introduces  through  me.  On  this  Bill  I 
shall  myself  speak  on  December  the  thirty-first, 
immediately  before  the  rising  of  the  House.  To-day 
I  shall  simply  read  the  text  of  it  to  you,  and  the 
House  will  then,  without  comment  or  debate,  rise 
for  the  Christmas  vacation.  How  much  I  re- 
gret  '   he   began,  then   stopped,   and  read  the 

following  : 

That  all  gambling-houses  in  the  realm  of 
Rliodope  of  every  sort  and  degree,  private  or  public, 
be  closed,  and  that  no  game  of  hazard  be  hence- 
forward played  therein. 

'  "  That  to  play  any  such  game  in  public,  or  to 
bet  in  public,  be  a  felony. 


PLOTS  AND  COUNTER-PLOTS.         165 

'  "  That  licenses  shall  be  withdrawn  from  every 
licensed  gambling-house  in  the  aforementioned  realm 
of  Rhodope. 

'  "  That  the  building  known  as  the  club  be  con- 
verted into  an  asylum  for  decayed  and  idiotic  old 
gentlemen,  the  purpose  for  which  the  ground  was 
originally  intended. 

'  "  That  the  person  known  as  Pierre  be  sent  back 
to  Monte  Carlo,  his  passage  (second-class)  paid. 

'  "  That  these  regulations  come  into  effect  on  the 
first  day  of  January  (new  style),  1857. 

'  "  Sophia, 
'  "  Hereditary  Princess  of  Rhodope."  ' 

Dead  silence  followed  ;  and  the  Prince,  command- 
ing his  voice  with  difficulty,  adjourned  the  House, 
bowed  to  the  deputies,  and  retired  through  the 
private  door  which  led  to  the  steps  communicating 
with  the  Palace  gardens. 

Copies  of  the  Bill  were  laid  on  the  table  in  the 
House,  and  each  Member  took  one  (these  papers 
now  fetch  a  high  price  among  collectors  of  curios)  ; 
one  also  was  brought  to  the  British  Legation,  and 
Lady  Blanche,  coming  in  from  her  ride  just  before 
dinner,  saw  and  read  it.  The  next  moment  a  fren- 
zied Amazon  figure  sped  up  the  stairs,  and  ten 
minutes  afterwards  a  telegram  in  cipher  was  handed 
to  the  Secretary,  who  was  writing  in  the  Chancery. 
It  was  addressed  to  the  Countess  of  ^Egina,  care  of 
the  Empress  of  Austria,  Corfu.  Blanche  had 
grasped  the  situation  in  its  completeness.     She  saw 


i66  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

that  the  grand  coup  was  to  be  played  on  December 
31,  and  that  till  then  it  was  better  that  Princess 
Sophia  should  not  be  in  Rhodope.  In  a  talk  the 
two  had  had  together,  they  had  decided  that  the 
Princess's  appearance  had  best  be  sudden,  like  a 
lightning  stroke,  that  in  the  very  moment  of  the 
crisis  she  should  again  be  with  them,  not  to  nip 
the  bud,  but  to  cull  the  flower  of  full-blown  con- 
spiracy. 
Consequently  her  telegram  ran  : 

'  Be  in  Amandos  secretly  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
thirty-first  ;  the  House  assembles  at  half-past  three. 
I  will  meet  you  at  Mavromati.  For  safety  change 
the  name  of  the  Felatrune.  Telegraph  to  me  the 
changed  name.' 

Late  that  night  a  telegram  was  handed  in  at  the 
Legation,  addressed  to  Lady  Blanche.  It  contained 
one  word  : 

'  Revenge.' 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   PRINCESS   RETURNS. 

For  the  next  ten  days  Rhodope  was  a  pandemonium 
of  conflicting  theory,  and  no  half-dozen  folk  could 
agree  as  to  the  authorship  of  this  incredible  Bill. 
Some  said  that  Sophia  had  gone  mad,  and  was  no 
longer  fit  to  be  the  ruler  of  the  country  ;  some  that 
Petros  had  tamed  her  haughty  spirit,  and  that  she 
was  wax  in  his  hands  ;  some  that  things  would 
explain  themselves  on  the  31st.  But  all  these  diver- 
gent lines  pulled  to  one  resultant :  it  was  impossible 
that  the  Bill  should  become  law.  It  was  a  uni- 
versally-allowed truth  that,  if  the  Bill  was  voted  on, 
it  must  be  opposed,  and  that  the  voice  of  the  people 
must  challenge  the  command  of  the  Crown.  Would 
Sophia  accept  such  an  affront  ?  If  she  did  accept 
it,  what  would  follow  ?  If  she  did  not  accept  it, 
what  would  follow  ?  The  old  Constitution  in  any 
case  could  not  stand,  and  at  this  conclusion  men 
bit  their  nails,  and  wondered  what  the  new  Constitu- 
tion would  be. 

But  there  was  yet  another  party — the  '  Extreme 
Loyalists,'  as  they  were  ironically  termed — who  were 


i68  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

faithful  to  Sophia.  They  were  few  in  number,  but 
fanatically  sure  of  their  own  orthodoxy.  There  must 
be,  they  said,  another  explanation  ;  it  was  not 
within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  Sophia  had 
originated  this  scheme,  or  was  in  any  way  respon- 
sible for  its  execution.  These,  when  asked  for  any 
explanation  that  could  hold  water,  would  not  com- 
mit themselves  ;  some  silently  held  Malakopf  respon- 
sible, some  Prince  Petros  ;  others,  who  had  seen  the 
wife  of  the  Mayor  of  Amandos  lose  a  hundred  francs 
with  a  very  bad  grace  at  the  tables,  were  ready  to 
affirm  that  she,  being  born  from  princely  blood,  had 
secret  schemes  on  the  throne  of  Rhodope.  This 
last  explanation  was  considered  to  be  in  indifferent 
taste  ;  men  did  not  just  now  desire  jokes  about 
the  future  of  the  monarchy. 

But  no  crisis  of  feverish  excitement  could  stay 
the  passage  of  hours.  Christmas  Day,  with  its 
sequence  of  festas,  was  a  mockery  of  merriment, 
and  still  there  came  no  sign  from  those  in  authority, 
no  word  that  could  in  any  way  allay  the  rising  fever 
of  the  people.  More  than  once  crowds  collected 
outside  the  Palace,  and  shouted  for  Prince  Petros  to 
speak  to  them.  Once  he  appeared  at  the  window 
and  bowed  to  them,  but  shook  his  head,  and  those 
who  saw  him  said  he  was  pale  and  haggard  and 
unshaved,  and  the  mob  dispersed  in  silence,  feeling 
that  perhaps  there  was  a  deeper  tragedy  than  they 
knew.  How  unlike  his  gay  and  gallant  figure  was 
that  mournful,  dishevelled  apparition  !  They  would 
have  been  even  more  puzzled  if  they  had  been  able 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  169 

to  see  him  a  moment  after  turn  to  Malakopf,  who 
was  sitting  with  him,  and  ask  with  a  sprightly  air, 
'  Didn't  I  do  that  well  ?  ' 

Up  till  the  28th  the  serenity''  of  the  weather  corre- 
sponded but  ill  with  the  tempest  of  the  political  out- 
look, but  on  that  morning  it  ^eemed  that  even  the 
elements  were  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  the  storm. 
A  morning  of  sultry  and  unseasonable  heat,  thick 
like  a  blanket,  ushered  in  a  wailing  wind  from  the 
east,  but  in  some  higher  current  of  the  air  a  rack 
of  thunder-clouds,  black  and  ominous,  stole  up  from 
behind  Corfu,  and  before  evening  had  spread  slowly 
and  impenetrably  over  the  sky.     The  heat  of  the 
morning  had  given  place  to  a  bitter  and  freezing  cold, 
a  cold  which  pierced  the  marrow  and  congealed  the 
vital  forces.     But  the  east  wind  had  dropped,  and, 
a   portent   to    behold,   flash   after    flash  of   remote 
lightning  lit  up  the  gathering  darkness  of  an  Arctic 
night.     About  midnight  the  storm  burst  in  a  blinding 
hurricane  of  sleet  and  snow,  and  all  the  artillery  of 
heaven  thundered  above  it.     At  Amandos  snow  was 
as  much  a  foreigner  as  thunder  ;    often  in  summer 
the  great  hilltops  round  were  cloaked  in  thunder- 
clouds or  smouldered  with  lightning,  yet  no  cloud 
obscured   the   brightness   of  the   heaven   from   the 
valley.     Again,  in  winter  these  same  hilltops  wore 
white  mantles  for  four  months,  yet  a  genial  sun, 
bright  and  invigorating,  shone  ever  on  the  town. 
To  lie  beneath  this  double  portent  was  an  ominous 
thing,  and  the  people,  tuned  to  superstition  by  their 
new  education  at  the  tables,  shook  their  heads,  and 


170  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

prophesied  a  revolution  of  elements  more  intimate 
to  them  than  snow  or  thunder. 

An  even  livelier  disquietude  possessed  Lady 
Blanche.  The  morning  of  the  29th  it  were  an 
abuse  of  language  to  call  a  morning  at  all.  The 
darkness,  peopled  by  nothing  but  snowflakes  and 
the  maddened  scream  of  the  wind,  seemed  more 
palpable  by  the  faint,  sick  glimmer  of  the  day  than 
it  had  been  at  night.  All  the  forenoon  the  hurricane 
waxed  ever  fiercer,  and,  like  drums,  it  was  possible 
to  hear,  amid  the  shrill  clamour  of  the  wind,  the 
booming  of  the  great  surges  driven  on  the  Cape  of 
Mavromati,  a  dozen  miles  away.  Lady  Blanche 
determined  to  telegraph  to  the  Princess  that  she 
should  leave  Corfu  at  once,  even  anticipating  her 
arrival  by  a  day  rather  than  risk  the  danger  of 
arriving  an  hour  too  late  ;  but  her  fears  were  ir- 
remediable, the  telegraph-wires  to  Mavromati  were 
down,  Amandos  was  cut  off  from  all  the  world. 

Then  she  would  have  sent  a  messenger  to  Mavro- 
mati with  her  message,  but  that  too  was  impossible. 
Who  could  hope  to  pass  alive  through  the  forest  in 
which  the  road  lay,  where  the  pines  were  falling  like 
ninepins  and  snapping  under  the  snow  like  matches  ? 
Noon  came,  unmarked  except  by  the  clock,  and  her 
anxiety  grew  irrepressible.  Outside  the  Legation 
windows  lay  the  square  of  the  town,  which  had  been 
so  gay  for  Sophia's  wedding ;  to-day  it  might  have 
been  a  rural  scene  in  Spitzbergen,  so  completely  had 
the  snow  denuded  it  of  its  evidences  of  civilization. 
A  desert  of  white  drifts  was  all  her  view  ;  one  could 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  171 

scarce  believe  that  a  row  of  houses  ran  north  and 
south  from  their  door,  that  a  hundred  yards  away 
rose  the  cathedral,  or  that  fifty  paces  to  the  left  were 
the  steps  of  the  Assembly,  which  in  two  days  would 
meet — for  what  ?  Yet  it  was  necessary,  no  less,  that 
Princess  Sophia  should  be  here  in  forty-eight  hours, 
and  it  was  this  problem  of  how  it  was  possible  that 
she  should  get  here  that  Blanche,  crushing  her 
temples  in  her  hands,  set  herself  to  solve. 

She  must  get  here,  so  much  was  certain  ;  that,  at 
any  rate,  was  a  fixed  point  in  this  awful  vagueness. 
The  Adriatic  boomed  its  shipwrecking  denial  ; 
twelve  miles  of  tree-strewn,  snow-drifted  forest  lay 
between  Mavromati  and  Amandos.  How,  how, 
and  yet  again,  how  ? 

Of  the  Princess's  courage  to  face,  if  need  be,  the 
final  storm,  the  trumpet  of  the  Archangel,  Blanche 
had  no  doubt.  Yet  what  sane  skipper  would  put  to 
sea  in  such  a  madness  of  the  heavens  ?  A  telegram 
must  be  sent  to  tell  Sophia  that  all  the  powers  of 
hell  must  not  hinder  her  return.  The  telegram  had 
to  be  sent.  Who  could  be  trusted  to  go  to  Mavro- 
mati, and  not  turn  back,  saying  that  the  mission 
was  beyond  all  possibility  ?  Instantly  the  solution 
struck  her — she  would  go  herself.  Lord  Abbots- 
worthy  was  dozing  after  lunch  ;  she  broke  in  on 
his  slumbers. 

'  Oh,  father,'  she  said,  '  there  is  not  time  to  ex- 
plain, but  take  my  word  for  it.  Unless  Sophia — 
unless  the  Princess — is  here  before  that  forged  Bill 
of  hers  comes  before  the  House  on  the  thirty-first, 


172  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

she  is  no  more  Princess  of  Rhodope.  She,  her  Hne, 
her  country,  are  at  stake.  She  is  at  Corfu — ah  ! 
do  not  ask  me  how  I  know,  but  I  know  she  is — 
with  the  Empress,  ready  to  return.  Come  she 
must.' 

Lord  Abbotsworthy  held  up  a  hstening  hand. 

'  Boom  !  boom  !  '  he  said  ;  '  that  is  the  Adriatic. 
But  you  are  so  unexpected,  Blanche.  Dear  me, 
how  sleepy  I  am  !  Princess  Sophia  may  be  at 
Corfu,  or  the  Falkland  Islands  ;  it  is  all  one.  Why 
should  she  come  ?     In  any  case,  she  cannot.' 

The  Minister  was  still  struggling  with  the  drowsi- 
ness that  snow  brings,  and  regarded  Blanche's  voice 
more  as  the  imaginings  of  a  political  nightmare  than 
the  tones  of  his  child. 

'  Oh,  you  don't  understand  !  '  she  cried.  '  But  I 
know  all  about  this  wicked  Bill.  It  is  an  invention 
of  Malakopf  and  that  husband  of  Sophia's.  I  am 
in  communication  with  the  Princess.  Well,  the 
wires  are  down  between  here  and  Mavromati,  and  I 
am  going  there  to  tell  her  to  come  back  at  once.' 

Lord  Abbotsworthy  was  by  this  time  sufficiently 
awake  to  understand  that  Blanche  was  in  earnest. 

'  My  dear  child,  you  can't  go/  he  said.  '  But  a 
man  might  get  through.  Shall  I  telegraph  to  the 
Foreign  Office  ?     Oh,  I  forget,  the  wires  are  down.' 

He  rose  and  went  to  the  window. 

'  It  is  impossible,'  he  said  ;  '  t  e  drifts  will  be 
deeper  than  a  man's  height  through  the  forests.' 

'  I  know,'  said  Blanche,  '  but  one  could  follow  the 
river  till  one  came  out  on  to  the  lower  plain.     There 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  173 

will  probably  be  less  snow  there.  And  I  must  go 
myself.  I  must  see  Sophia  before  she  comes  to 
Amandos  ;  it  is  her  crown  to  her.' 

Lord  Abbotsworthy  looked  at  Blanche  approv- 
ingly.    His  diplomatic  calm  never  left  him. 

'  Yo  are  not  the  first  woman  of  your  race  who 
has  shown  a  man's  pluck,'  he  said.  '  Well,  you 
shall  have  your  way.  There  is  a  bridle-path  by 
the  river,  is  there  not  ?  Take  two  men  with  you — 
Yanni,  and  the  English  groom,  who  will  see  to  the 
horses.  Yanni  can  find  his  way  anywhere,  even  at 
Waterloo  Junction.  Meantime,  Blanche,  if  this  is 
likely  to  be  a  question  of  an  hour  or  two  losing  or 
winning  everything,  I  will  send  out  some  men  to 
clear  the  path  for  the  Princess's  return.  I  take  your 
word  for  the  whole  matter,  and  I  will  not  delay  you 
by  asking  questions.  I  assume  that  I  can  do  noth- 
ing, or  else  you  would  have  told  me  what  I  could  do.' 

'  Oh,  father,  that  is  good  of  you  !  '  she  cried.  '  Let 
them  do  all  they  can  to  mak  the  carriage-road 
passable  by  Wednesday  morning ;  one  can  go 
quicker  that  way.     I  will  send  fo  •  Yanni.' 

In  half  an  hpur  they  were  off.  Lord  Abbots- 
worthy's  head-keeper,  a  shrewd  greyhound  of  an 
Albanian,  who  knew  the  forests  as  a  man  knows  his 
house,  had  said  that  it  would  be  possible  to  make  a 
way  along  the  bridle-path  by  the  river,  thus  avoid- 
ing the  delay  and  danger  of  falling  or  fallen  trees, 
and  the  groom  took  the  order  with  the  bland  im- 
perturbability of  an  English  servant.  They  had 
each  a  horse,   or  rather   a  sturdy   mountain   cob, 


174  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

animals  more  surefooted  than  a  cat,  wise,  strong,  and 
steady.  They  left  the  Legation  by  the  stable-gate, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  possibility  of  being  seen  by  any- 
one from  the  houses  in  the  square,  and  in  a  moment 
the  white  tumult  of  the  driven  snow  had  swallowed 
them  up. 

The  confusion  of  the  elements  was  incredible  ;  the 
snow,  driven  almost  horizontally  by  the  wind,  was 
more  like  a  solid  sheet  than  an  infinity  of  flakes. 
Beneath  the  shelter  of  houses,  they  made  their 
way  quickly  out  of  the  town,  though  not  without 
danger,  for  the  tiles  on  the  windward  side  of  the 
roofs,  where  the  snow  could  not  lie,  were  starting 
up  like  disturbed  game,  and  would  be  shot  with  a 
rattle  half-way  across  the  street,  burying  themselves 
with  a  silent  plunge  in  the  snow,  and  once  half  a 
chimney  fell  not  three  yards  in  front  of  Blanche. 

It  was  not  till  they  left  the  last  houses  behind 
that  they  realized  the  full  uproar  of  the  heavens, 
and  in  ten  minutes,  for  all  that  could  be  seen,  they 
might  have  been  at  Amandos  or  Mavromati.  They 
could  discern  nothing,  except  a  few  yards  of  white 
ground  on  each  side  ;  they  passed  lumps  and  hum- 
mocks of  snow  to  the  right  hand  and  the  left,  which 
might  have  been  houses,  or  buried  flocks  of  sheep,  or 
hedgerows.  But  Yanni,  with  the  aid  of  a  compass 
and  a  long  pole,  which  from  time  to  time  he  thrust 
forward  beyond  his  pony  to  guard  against  slipping 
into  a  drift,  led  them  cannily  on.  In  an  hour  or  so 
they  could  tell  he  was  on  the  right  track,  for  the 
ground  began  rapidly  to  decline,  and  on  their  left 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  175 

they  passed  from  time  to  time  a  fallen  tree,  or  a 
group  of  wind-tormented  pines,  which  must  be  the 
outliers  of  the  forest.  Soon  the  screaming  of  the 
wind  was  overscored  by  a  hoarser  note,  and  in  ten 
minutes  more  they  came  down  to  the  river,  yellow 
and  swollen  beyond  recognition,  a  furlong  breadth 
of  maddened  foam,  peopled  with  trees,  house-beams, 
debris  of  huts  and  now  and  then  some  dead  animal 
— sheep,  pig,  or  goat — all  twisting  and  whirling 
down  with  a  ghastly  sort  of  gaiety  in  a  veritable 
dance  of  death. 

A  steep  bank  of  snow  led  to  the  river-side,  on 
which  lay  the  bridle-path  they  must  now  find  and 
follow,  and  Yanni  dismounted  to  probe  about  for  it. 
Once  he  slipped  up  to  the  neck  in  a  drift,  and  when 
Blanche  and  the  groom  dragged  him  out,  he  shook 
his  head  in  grave  self-reproof. 

'  I  doubt  my  mother  bore  a  fool,'  he  said. 

But  before  long  they  found  it,  and  once  found,  it 
was  easily  possible  to  follow  the  path,  for  it  lay 
notably  level  on  that  hillside  of  snow. 

About  four  of  the  afternoon,  when  the  faint 
glimmer  of  day  was  turning  into  a  more  palpable 
darkness,  a  change,  at  first  hardly  perceptible,  began 
to  come  over  the  tumult  of  the  weather.  The  wind 
blew  only  in  sudden  squalls  and  sonorous  gusts, 
with  intervals  of  quiet ;  the  falling  snow  grew  thinner 
and  finer,  and  though  they  were  rapidly  descending, 
the  cold  grew  more  exquisite  and  piercing.  The 
ponies'  feet,  instead  of  plunging  noiselessly  into  the 
fallen  stuff,  made  each  step  through  a  crisp  upper 


176  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

crust  of  frozen  snow.  By  five  the  sky  was  clear  and 
the  wind  dead,  and  an  innumerable  host  of  large  and 
frosty  stars  began  to  glimmer  like  half-lit  lamps  in 
a  vault  of  velvet.  As  the  intenser  darkness  of  night 
came  on  they  burned  ever  more  luminously,  and 
every  foot  of  the  country,  lying  white  and  polished 
and  shining,  caught  and  reflected  their  brightness. 
Eastwards  the  sky  was  gray  with  the  approach  of 
moonrise,  and  even  before  the  full  circle  topped  the 
hills  to  the  east,  it  was  as  if  day  had  but  now  suc- 
ceeded to  night  rather  than  night  to  day. 

Before  seven  they  had  joined  the  main-road  from 
Mavromati  below  and  beyond  the  intervening  forest. 
The  air  Was  of  an  exceeding  clearness,  and  crisp 
with  frost,  and  not  five  miles  away  twinkled  the 
lights  of  the  port,  and  the  various  fingers  of  the 
lighthouse.  Behind  them,  a  black  blot  in  the  moon- 
light, rose  the  forest,  shoulder  over  shoulder  ;  to 
their  right  brawled  the  swollen  stream,  but  all  was 
as  still  and  as  frozen  as  an  Arctic  day. 

Not  till  then,  when,  morally  speaking,  their 
journey  was  over,  did  Lady  Blanche  reahze  how 
acute  her  anxiety  had  been. 

'  Oh,  William !  '  she  exclaimed  to  the  groom, 
with  a  sudden,  half-hysterical  laugh,  '  We  shall 
soon  be  there.' 

*  Yes,  my  lady,'  replied  that  iron-faced  function- 
ary, and  he  brushed  a  little  frill  of  icicles  from  his 
hair  and  eyebrows. 

The  night  was  windless  and  deadly  cold,  but 
the  beauty  of  it  was  beyond  compare.     On  all  sides 


\  THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  177 

stretched  acre  on  acre  of  frozen  snow,  rounded  and 
billowy,  but  every  outline  was  etched  with  the 
crispness  of  the  frost.  The  sound  of  their  ponies' 
going  was  like  a  biting  of  toast ;  other  noise  there 
was  none,  except  the  crashing  thunder  of  the  broken 
surges  on  the  shore.  As  they  drew  nearer,  these 
ever  became  the  more  stupendous,  till  the  ear  was 
filled  with  their  booming,  as  with  the  roar  of  a  train 
in  a  tunnel.  Soon  it  was  possible  to  detect  above 
the  increasing  riot  the  scream  of  the  pebbly  beach 
continuaUy  dragged  down  to  the  jaws  of  one  wave, 
only  to  be  vomited  up  afresh  by  the  next,  and  her 
anxieties  again  began  to  lie  heavy  on  Lady  Blanche. 
Her  part  Was  done  ;  in  another  hour  the  telegraph 
would  twitch  her  message  across  to  Corfu  ;  but 
how  would  it  be  possible  for  any  yacht  to  win  through 
those  mountainous  billows  ?  Down  on  the  sea- 
board the  snowfall  had  been  less  deep,  and  before 
eight  they  had  entered  the  streets,  all  dumb  and 
silent,  and  the  telegram  summoning  Sophia  at  once 
had  been  despatched. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  came  the  Prin- 
cess's reply.  *  I  am  just  going  on  board.  We 
start  at  once.  It  wiU  be  rather  rough,'  it  said,  and 
no  more  ;  and  all  that  day  Blanche  watched  in  a 
fever  of  impatience  for  a  sight  of  the  newly-christ- 
ened Revenge.  In  fair  weather  it  Was  a  crossing  of 
not  more  than  six  hours,  but  who  could  say  how 
many  in  such  a  sea  ?  She  consulted  with  Yanni 
as  to  the  possible  means  of  return  to  Amandos, 
for  this  frost  would  render  the  road  impassable  to 


178  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

carriages,  however  zealous  had  been  the  work  of 
the  men  Lord  Abbotsworthy  had  sent  out,  and  he 
said  that  riding  was  the  only  mode  of  passage. 
Lady  Blanche  was  seated  at  her  window  in  the  sitting- 
room  of  the  Hotel  Royal  while  the  old  keeper  talked 
to  her,  and  looking  out  idly  into  the  street,  she  saw 
two  children  playing  together  on  the  frozen  and 
compacted  snow.  One  had  a  board,  to  which  he 
had  tied  a  string  ;  the  other  sat  on  it,  and  was  easily 
pulled  along.  Suddenly  she  applied  the  suggestion, 
and  with  dismay  at  her  own  stupidity. 

'  Oh,  Yanni !  '  she  cried,  '  I  am  a  fool,  and  you 
another  !     A  sledge  !  ' 

But  a  sledge  was  an  unknown  conveyance  in 
Rhodope,  and  Blanche  hired  a  light  cart.  She  had 
the  wheels  taken  off,  and  two  wooden  runners,  shod 
with  steel,  fitted  on  to  its  springs.  The  superin- 
tendence of  this  carpentering  served  to  fill  in  the 
hours  of  that  awful  day  of  Waiting  ;  but  when  night 
fell  there  was  still  no  signal  of  a  ship.  The  wind 
had  again  risen  to  hurricane  force,  maddening  still 
more  the  maddened  sea,  and  a  threat  of  a  further 
fall  of  snow  was  abroad.  The  stars  in  their  courses 
seemed  to  fight  against  Sophia. 

The  meeting  of  the  Assembly  was  fixed  for  half- 
past  three  the  next  afternoon.  Allowing  for  a  long 
speech  from  Prince  Petros,  and  the  possibility  of 
opposition  contrary  to  the  Constitution  of  Rho- 
dope, by  six  o'clock  to-morrow  afternoon  at  latest 
Sophia  must  be  at  Amandos.  How  she  would  choose 
to  act  Blanche  could  not  guess,  but  that  she  was 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  179 

content  to  leave  to  the  Princess.  Her  part  was  to 
get  Sophia  there.  Outside  the  note  of  the  gale 
would  rise  and  fall  again  octave  over  octave,  like 
the  hootings  of  some  infernal  siren,  but  as  yet  there 
was  neither  more  snow  nor  thaw.  But  the  crash 
of  the  breakers  grew  ever  hungrier  and  more  split- 
ting, and  still  the  Revenge  came  not. 

She  could  not  bring  herself  to  go  to  bed,  but  sat 
listening  in  a  horrible  dread  for  she  scarcely  knew 
what.  But  when  across  the  mingled  bellowings  of 
the  storm  she  heard  a  gun  fired  out  at  sea,  she 
sprang  up  with  a  palpitating  heart  and  a  gasp  for 
breath,  knowing  that  it  was  this  which  she  had 
feared.  Running  to  the  window,  she  saw  a  rocket 
shoot  up  in  a  line  of  flame,  like  a  match  struck  in 
the  dark,  and  a  minute  afterwards  the  report  of  it 
followed.  She  rang  the  bell  hastily  and  told  Yanni 
to  come  with  her  along  the  pier  out  to  the  lighthouse 
at  the  end. 

It  was  now  only  a  little  before  midnight,  and  the 
moon  plunged  and  sped  through  a  rack  of  flying 
clouds,  like  a  woman  distraught,  now  naked,  now 
clad  in  blowing  vapours.  The  wind  came  straight 
off  the  sea,  piercingly  cold,  and  full  of  spray  and 
blown  sand,  while  over  the  frozen  carpet  of  snow 
in  the  street  wisps  of  brown  seaweed  and  pebbles 
from  the  beach  scudded  and  bowled  along  like 
little  people  in  a  panic.  On  the  pier  itself  the  force 
of  the  wind  was  more  tremendous,  and  they  had 
to  make  a  slanting  tack  as  they  walked,  zigzagging 
to  and  fro,  and  leaning  against  the  gale  as  against 


i8o  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

a  wall.  Once  and  again  the  signal  of  distress  came 
from  the  sea,  and  round  the  house  where  the  life- 
boat was  kept  they  could  see  a  throng  of  men  grow- 
ing and  increasing,  and  the  light  of  lanterns  tossed 
up  and  down  in  the  stinging  air.  Then  from  the 
sea  shot  up  another  rocket,  and  a  cold  blue  light 
burned  steadily  for  some  seconds  or  so,  and  in  that 
glare  Blanche  made  out  the  three  masts  of  a  sail- 
ing-ship, and  a  flood  of  relief  welled  in  her  heart. 

'  Oh,  thank  God  !  '  she  cried, '  it  is  not  she  !  '  And 
next  moment  '  Oh,  poor  folk  !  poor  folk  !  '  she  said  ; 
and  Yanni  crossed  himself  and  muttered  a  prayer 
for  their  safety. 

There  was  a  coastguard  station  at  the  end  of  the 
pier,  and  she  asked  for  the  officer  in  command,  giv- 
ing her  name,  and  saying  that  a  steamer  called  the 
Revenge  was  expected,  which  had  on  board  some 
friends  of  Lord  Abbotsworthy.  It  had  started 
from  Corfu  early  that  morning.  Then,  remember- 
ing that  no  communication  with  Amandos  was 
possible,  and  that  though  the  men  would,  in  case 
of  the  necessity  for  rescue,  do  their  best,  though 
there  were  only  a  crew  of  the  hated  Turks  on  board 
— yet  the  knowledge  that  Sophia  was  there  could 
not  but  be  an  incentive  to  heroisms — she  told  all. 

'  Captain  Hatsopoulo,'  she  said,  '  the  Revenge  is 
none  other  than  the  Felatrune.  Princess  Sophia  is 
on  board,  and  little  Prince  Leonard  ;  the  whole 
hopes  of  the  House  of  ^Egina  are  there.  There  is  a 
foul  plot  against  her — this  Bill,  in  fact,  which  you 
may  have  heard  of.     I  can  tell  you  no  more.     But 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  i8i 

she  must  be  in  Amandos  to-morrow — she  must  ! 
she  must  !  Ah,  it  is  already  to-morrow — she  must 
be  there  this  afternoon.' 

The  ship  which  had  made  signals  of  distress  had 
by  now  come  close  into  shore,  and  already  the  life- 
boat was  out.  They  had  quickly  got  a  rope  out  to 
her,  for  she  was  already  breaking  up,  and  the  work 
of  rescue  was  going  on.  Blanche  had  gone  into  the 
house  of  the  coastguard  station,  for  an  inward  neces- 
sity for  being  near  prevented  her  from  going  back 
to  the  hotel,  and  she  sat  by  the  fire  in  a  room  they 
prepared  for  her,  waiting.  In  another  hour  came 
news  that  the  crew  of  the  vessel  had  all  been  saved, 
but  the  ship  lost.  Not  long  after  this  she  fell  into 
an  uneasy  doze,  and  dreamed  that  the  kingdom  of 
Rhodope  was  a  bright  little  round  thing,  like  a  rou- 
lette-marble. She  and  Sophia  had  gone  out  for  a 
walk  together,  and  Sophia  had  dropped  it,  and  now 
she  and  the  Princess  were  hunting  for  it  in  the  snow. 
Others  were  hunting  for  it,  too.  Gray,  uncanny 
shapes  like  wolves  trotted  incessantly  about  ;  some 
were  like  Malakopf,  some  reminded  her  of  Prince 
Petros,  others  had  terrible  whiskers  and  green  eyes  ; 
others,  again,  were  more  in  the  semblance  of  fiends 
unimaginably  horrible,  and  they  all  scratched  and 
nosed  in  the  snow  for  the  little  bright  marble. 
Then  she  slept  more  deeply,  and  a  dreamless  slum- 
ber succeeded  to  these  uneasy  visions. 

It  was  already  day  when  she  awoke  ;  the  faith- 
ful Yanni  was  stretched  out  on  the  floor  beside  her 
chair  asleep,  and  it  was  Captain  Hatsopoulo's  en- 


i82  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

trance  that  had  roused  her.  She  started  at  once 
into  the  full  possession  of  her  faculties,  and  sprang 
up. 

*  Ah  !  I  no  longer  hear  the  wind,'  she  cried.  '  Well, 
captain,  what  is  it  ?  ' 

'  The  Revenge  has  been  sighted,'  he  said.  '  You 
can  see  her  out  of  this  window.' 

Far  out  over  the  waste  of  tossing  water  there 
heaved  up  and  sank  again  the  masts  and  bulwarks 
of  a  steamer.  Captain  Hatsopoulo  took  Blanche  to 
where  the  great  telescope  stood. 

'  Watch  her  as  she  rises  to  a  wave,'  he  said. 
'  There  !  that  is  none  other  than  the  Felatrune. 
You  can  see  her  colours.  The  Princess  is  flying 
her  own  flag  !     God  save  the  Princess  !  '  he  cried. 

'  God  save  her  !  '  echoed  Blanche  ;  *  and  confound 
the  tricks  of  her  enemies  !  ' 

The  Revenge  was  steering  an  easterly  course  from 
Corfu,  and  about  ten  of  the  morning  she  came  oppo- 
site Mavromati,  still  some  miles  out  to  sea.  They 
saw  her  swing  this  way  and  that,  now  labouring  low 
in  the  trough  of  the  waves,  now  poised  on  the  top, 
and  for  the  next  hour  watched  her  still  nearing 
them,  her  masts  striking  wildly  right  and  left  across 
a  space  of  some  ninety  degrees,  so  that  it  made 
Blanche  feel  qualms  of  nausea  only  to  see  her. 
On  shore,  opposite  the  landing  stage  where  she 
would  put  in,  was  drawn  up  the  sledge,  ready  to 
start  at  a  moment's  notice  ;  and  opposite,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  harbour,  the  lifeboat  was  launched 
with  its  crew,  in  case  she  could  not  make  the  har- 


THE  PRINCESS  RETURNS.  183 

bour  mouth,  and  was  driven  ashore.  The  port  of 
Mavromati  faced  almost  north,  and  the  gale  from 
the  north-west  had  raised  a  terrific  cross-sea.  As 
she  drew  nearer,  they  could  see  that  she  had  changed 
her  course  a  point  or  two  northwards,  to  allow  space 
enough  so  that  she  should  not  be  carried  against 
the  south  pier  by  the  huge  billows  that  swept  across 
the  entrance.  Already  she  had  slackened  steam, 
and  made  almost  imperceptible  way  towards  them. 
Then  came  a  minute  of  awful  suspense  as  she  moved 
close  up  to  the  harbour  mouth,  so  perilously  near 
to  the  wall  of  broken  water  which  dashed  over  the 
end  of  the  south  pier  that  the  spray  of  it  hid  her 
for  a  moment  ;  the  next  she  was  beyond  the  breakers, 
and  safe. 

Blanche  was  already  half-way  across  the  harbour 
to  meet  her,  and  before  the  yacht  had  come  to  anchor 
she  was  over  the  side  and  in  Sophia's  arms. 

'  Ah,  you  are  not  much  too  soon,  dearest  Sophia  !  ' 
she  cried,  '  I  have  waited  here  all  night.  Quick  ! 
come  ashore  ;  the  sledge  is  ready.' 

'  Is  there  room  in  it  for  a  box  ?  '  she  asked.  '  I 
do  not  want  to  appear  before  the  Assembly  in  trav- 
elling clothes.' 

'  Yes,  yes,  there  is  room,'  cried  the  other.  '  You 
shall  dress  at  the  Legation.     Come — only  come  !  ' 

'  Petros  will  be  surprised  to  see  me,'  remarked  the 
Princess.     '  As  we  go,  you  shall  tell  me  everything.' 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE    PRINCESS    IS    VERY   MUCH    THERE. 

The  Parliament  House  at  Amandos,  standing  next 
the  cathedral  in  the  square,  is  but  a  small  building, 
for  its  full  attendance  is  only  sixty  ;  but  for  beauty 
of  proportion  and  exquisiteness  of  finish  it  would 
be  difficult  to  name  its  fellow.  Over  the  main  en- 
trance is  a  carved  wooden  gallery,  where  the  friends 
of  Members  can  attend  a  debate  ;  at  the  other  a  raised 
platform,  on  which  are  the  seats  for  the  six  Min- 
isters of  the  Crown,  and  the  throne  itself.  These 
are  near  the  wall,  and  close  behind  the  throne  is  the 
small  door  which  communicates  with  the  Princess's 
private  way  into  the  Palace.  Three  steps  lead  up 
from  the  floor  of  the  House  on  to  the  platform, 
which  is  faced  by  a  low  bronze  balustrade  of  dol- 
phins, and  foliage,  and  mermaids.  It  is  the  custom 
for  any  Minister  who  wishes  to  address  the  House 
on  the  debate  to  take  his  place  not  on  the  platform, 
but  on  the  Ministerial  front  bench.  Similarly  the 
monarch,  if  contributing  to  the  debate,  sits  as  the 
first  of  his  own  Ministers.  The  custom  is  an  an- 
cient one,  and  certainly  signifies  that  While  appeal- 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  185 

ing  to  the  House,  and  arguing  for  or  against  a  ques- 
tion, all  are  equal  as  Members  of  that  House,  and 
carry  no  official  rank. 

The  seats  of  the  Members  are  arranged  in  two 
rows  on  each  side  of  the  gangway  of  the  House, 
which  is  paved  in  variously  coloured  marbles  from 
Bdlteck.  The  most  exquisite  patterns  in  red,  green, 
and  yellow  adorn  it,  and  in  the  centre,  in  lapis 
lazuU,  jasper,  and  white  marble,  are  wrought  the 
crown  and  royal  arms  of  Rhodope.  Behind  the 
Members'  seats  on  each  side  stand  the  busts  of  the 
Princes  of  Rhodope,  an  unbroken  line  dating  from 
the  time  of  Constantine,  first  Prince  of  the  House 
of  iEgina.  This  is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  series, 
and  is  by  Desiderio  da  Settignano,  one  of  Dona- 
tello's  few  pupils.  The  seats  of  the  Members  are 
great  oak  armchairs  in  scarlet  brocade,  and  the 
walls  are  covered  with  old  oak  woodwork  of  the 
fifteenth  century. 

But  the  marvel  of  the  place  is  the  throne  ;  it  is 
made  throughout  of  ivory,  a  panel  of  gold  brocade 
is  let  into  the  back,  and  the  cushion  of  the  seat  is 
covered  with  the  same.  Two  gold  lions  support  the 
arms,  and  back,  arms,  and  front  are  thickly  in- 
crusted  with  precious  stones,  and  goldsmith's  work 
attributed  to  Benvenuto  Cellini.  The  footstool  is 
likewise  of  ivory,  and  gold  brocade  covers  the  tread 
of  it.  The  whole  is  set  on  four  steps,  the  first  of 
which  is  covered  with  a  thick  facing  of  white  Arabian 
agate,  the  second  with  jasper,  the  thi^rd  with  cor- 
nelian,   and    the    fourth    with    chalcedony.     Thus, 


i86  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

though  it  stands  far  back  from  the  House,  the  whole 
of  it,  owing  to  its  elevation,  is  clearly  seen  over  the 
low  bronze  balustrade  of  the  platform. 

The  morning  of  December  31  dawned  clear  and 
light  after  the  tempest  of  the  two  days  before,  but 
an  ominous  stillness,  like  the  hush  before  a  storm, 
hung  over  the  town.  None  was  bold  enough  to 
forecast  the  probable  issue  of  events — none,  in- 
deed, knew  exactly  what  was  happening.  Those 
who  refused  to  believe  that  Sophia  was  responsible 
for  this  crisis  were  already  in  the  large  majority, 
but  as  it  was  thought  that  she  was  in  England, 
nothing  but  a  telegram  from  her — unless,  indeed, 
she  was  still  ignorant  of  what  was  taking  place — 
could  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  save  the  situa- 
tion. That  this  preposterous  Bill  could  be  carried 
was  not  worth  consideration  ;  it  was  not  even  known 
whether  Prince  Petros  would  vote  for  it.  None 
knew  what  manner  of  communication  he  would 
make.  It  was  hinted  that  he  would  merely  men- 
tion that  it  was  introduced  by  the  Sovereign,  and 
thus  would  become  law,  others  thought  he  might 
go  so  far  as  to  disclaim  all  share  in  it,  and  even 
express  sympathy  with  the  nation.  Some,  as  has 
been  already  mentioned,  saw  in  him  the  first  cause 
of  it,  and  were  wildly  indignant  against  him  ;  others, 
again,  affirmed  that  none  were  so  indignant  as  him- 
self, and  that  he  regarded  the  fall  of  Sophia  as  in- 
evitable, and  not  unjust.  What  line  the  present 
Government  would  take,  what  form  the  future 
Government  would  assume,  none  knew.    There  was. 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  187 

however,  certainly  a  considerable  party  which  would 
gladly  have  seen  Petros  on  the  throne,  if  Sophia 
really  intended  to  commit  this  wild  and  obstinate 
mistake  ;  others,  it  was  supposed,  were  Republi- 
cans in  tendency,  and  pointed  silently  to  Malakopf 
as  the  President  of  the  Republic.  One  thing  only, 
in  the  midst  of  this  feverish  uncertainty,  was  sure 
— ^the  Bill  could  not  become  law. 

The  debate  was  fixed  for  half-past  three,  but  long 
before  that  time  the  gallery  of  the  House  was  filled 
to  overflowing  with  eager  eyes,  and  every  Member, 
chilly  and  apprehensive,  was  in  his  seat.  All  the 
Ministers  were  in  the  body  of  the  House,  indicating 
that  all  meant  to  take  part  in  the  debate.  This  by 
itself  was  ominous  enough,  for  it  showed  that  there 
would  be  a  debate  on  a  Bill  introduced  by  the  Crown, 
a  fact  in  itself  unique  and  unprecedented.  Prince 
Petros  had  not  yet  arrived,  but  the  half-hour  still 
tingled  in  the  air  from  the  great  bronze  chime  of 
the  cathedral,  when  the  private  door  from  the  Palace 
opened,  and  he  came  quickly  in.  The  Members,  all 
wearing  levee  dress,  remained  standing  till  he  had 
taken  his  seat  on  the  throne  ;  then,  after  a  moment's 
pause,  he  took  up  the  paper  for  the  day,  and  again 
read  out  the  text  of  the  inexplicable  Bill.  It  was 
noticed  that  he  looked  pale,  but  his  voice  was  steady. 

'  "  That  all  gambling-houses  in  the  realm  of 
Rhodope,  of  every  sort  and  degree,  private  or 
public,  be  closed,  and  that  no  game  of  hazard  be 
henceforward  played  therein. 


i88  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

*  "  That  to  play  any  such  game  in  public,  or  to 
bet  in  public,  be  a  felony. 

'  "  That  licenses  shall  be  withdrawn  from  every 
licensed  gambling-house  in  the  aforementioned  realm 
of  Rhodope. 

'  "  That  the  building  known  as  the  Club  be  con- 
verted into  an  asylum  for  decayed  and  idiotic  old 
gentlemen,  the  purpose  for  which  the  ground  was 
originally  intended. 

'  "  That  the  person  known  as  Pierre  be  sent  back 
to  Monte  Carlo,  his  passage  (second  class)  paid. 

'  "  That  these  regulations  come  into  effect  on  the 
first  day  of  January  (new  style),  1857. 

'  "  Sophia, 
'  "  Hereditary  Princess  of  Rhodope."  ' 

In  dead  silence  he  read,  in  dead  silence  he  put 
down  the  paper  on  the  little  ivory  table  by  the 
throne,  and  walked  to  the  seat  reserved  for  the 
monarch,  if  he  should  take  part  in  the  debate,  as 
the  first  of  his  Ministers.  His  step  did  not  falter, 
he  neither  hurried  nor  hung  back,  and  after  a  pause 
of  a  moment  or  two,  in  which  the  House  waited  in 
dead  silence,  he  took  a  little  sheaf  of  papers  from 
his  pocket,  and,  rising  to  his  feet,  turned  his  back 
on  the  throne  so  as  to  face  the  Memebers,  and  spoke. 

'  Gentlemen,'  he  said,  *  you  have  heard  in  silence 
and  in  dismay  the  communication  I  have  read  you 
from  the  throne.  With  what  dismay  I  read  it  I 
cannot  hope  to  picture  to  you.  It  is  an  anomaly 
that  any  speech  should  be  made  on  a  Bill  intro- 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  189 

duced  by  the  Crown  except  by  the  Crown  itself,  but 
I  observe  that  Her  Royal  Highness's  Ministers  have 
taken  their  places  in  the  House.  I  sympathize  with 
them,  and  though  I  suppose  I  have  the  right,  as  the 
Princess's  representative,  to  order  that  they  go  back 
to  their  places  ' — here  an  angry  murmur  arose  from 
the  gallery — *  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  heart  to  do  so. 
I  suspend  the  rule  that  no  speech  should  be  made 
but  my  own.  In  this  I  trust  I  am  not  disloyal  to 
my  beloved  wife,  whom  I  represent.  I  really  cannot 
feel  clear  how  she  would  act.  I  must  use  my  judg- 
ment. 

'  I  do  not  know  what  manner  of  speech  you  expect 
from  me,'  he  continued.  '  Indeed,  I  scarcely  know 
what  to  say,  and  yet  I  must  tell  you  what  is  in  my 
heart.  At  least  I  may  claim  your  pity,  for  no  man, 
I  think,  was  ever  in  so  terrible  a  position.  Every 
word  of  that  Bill  was  bitter  to  me,  for,  indeed — you 
hear  my  voice  for  the  last  time — the  people  of 
Rhodope  are  very  dear  to  me.  But  dearer  is  my 
love  for  my  wife  ' — here  his  voice  rose  a  little — '  the 
Princess  Sophia,  and  dearer  the  little  rag  of  loyalty 
which  I  can  still  keep,  which  nothing— no  iron 
chains  of  circumstance,  no  monstrous  necessity — 
can  strip  from  me.' 

The  last  words  vibrated  with  intensest  passion  ; 
they  seemed  instinct  with  truth  and  loyalty.  The 
man  was  a  great  orator.  He  paused  a  moment,  and 
went  on  more  calmly  : 

'  But  in  justice  to  myself,  though  you  shall  all 
see   which   way   my   conscience   commands   me   to 


igo  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

vote  as  the  representative  of  Her  Royal  Highness — 
in  justice  to  myself,  I  must  say  a  few  words  of  ex- 
culpation. Believe  me,  I  am  altogether  innocent  of 
this  stupendous  error.  Not  one  word  have  I  ex- 
changed with  the  Princess  Sophia  on  this  matter  ; 
she  never  consulted  me  on  it,  and  perhaps  wisely, 
for  she  must  have  known  what  I  should  feel.  It  is 
scarcely  six  months  ago  that  she  in  person  inaugu- 
rated the  club,  in  the  formation  and  execution  of 
which  I  may,  without  boasting,  claim  no  incon- 
siderable share.  That  club,  so  I  am  happy  to  think, 
has  poured  money  like  a  snow-fed  torrent  into 
Rhodope ;  many  hundreds  of  the  citizens  have 
shares  in  it,  which  yield  a  percentage  which  no  gold 
mine  can  rival.  Indirectly  how  much  more  has  it 
proved  to  have  enriched  us  !  Was  not  the  capital 
last  autumn  one  hive  of  visitors  from  other  countries, 
bringing  not  only  wealth  to  us,  but  an  interchange 
of  ideas,  enlarging  our  horizons,  making  us  feel  that 
we  had  brethren  from  over-sea  ?  And  now  what  ? 
This  great  building  is  to  be  closed,  the  visitors  will 
come  no  more  ;  they  will  leave  our  pine  breezes  for 
the  languorous  air  of  the  Riviera,  and  we — we  shall 
go  back  to  the  old  life.  Let  me  take  a  few  figures 
to  show  you  just  what  this  means,  dealing  only 
with  small  items  easy  to  understand.  Last  year 
there  were  eight  restaurants  and  five  hotels  in 
Rhodope,  now  there  are  forty-six  restaurants  and 
seventeen  hotels  completely  open,  and  far  more  in 
course  of  construction.  This  increase  is  not  profit- 
able alone,   nor  even  principally  perhaps,   to  the 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  191 

enterprise  of  those  who  have  started  them.  The 
farmer  finds  a  readier  market  for  his  sheep,  the  vine- 
grower  for  his  wines  ;  there  is  not  a  single  trade  which 
has  not  profited  largely  by  this.  This  increased 
prosperity  has  filtered  through  every  minutest 
channel  of  our  industries.  Where  sheep  only  fed 
on  the  mountain-side  now  resound  the  cries  of  the 
golfers,  and  the  barren  land  north  of  Mavromati 
fetches  a  rental  of  eighty  pounds  sterling  as  a  links. 
Take,  again,  the  case  of  the  vine-grower.  Such  is 
the  wonderful  fertility  of  our  soil,  in  other  years 
we  have  often  sent  wine  abroad,  for  the  consump- 
tion at  home  is  not  equal  to  the  supply.  But  now 
what  do  we  see  ?  Our  vineyards  cannot  keep  pace 
with  the  demand ;  we  import  much  from  France, 
from  Germany,  and  the  cheaper  hotels,  I  am  told, 
from  California  and  Australia,  and  the  duty  swells 
our  revenues.  From  this  I  hoped  that  we  should 
advance  even  further,  that  more  land  would  be  taken 
into  cultivation,  more  folk  profitably  employed. 
Alas,  and  alas,  for  my  dreams  !  ' 

The  House  had  been  attentive  when  he  began  ; 
now,  you  may  say,  they  hung  on  hooks.  It  had 
not,  at  any  rate,  been  expected  that  the  Prince 
would  express  himself  so  unmistakably.  A  murmur 
of  sympathetic  applause  rose  and  died  and  rose 
again.  The  tide  of  popular  approval  flowed  in  his 
favour  ;  he  at  least  was  opposed  to  this  measure. 
Malakopf  alone  was  uneasy  ;  he  shifted  in  his  seat, 
his  quick  brain  sought  handles  in  the  Prince's  words, 
yet  from  every  point  he  retired  baffled.     Petros,  it 


192  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

is  true,  was  creating  an  impression  most  unfavour- 
able to  Sophia.  Malakopf  had  to  do  the  same  for 
him.  Tlie  Presidency  of  the  RepubHc  still  hung  in 
the  wavering  balance. 

'  I  had  hoped  otherwise,'  continued  Petros.  '  I 
had  hoped  to  see  the  commerce  of  Europe  pour  into 
Rhodope.  Acre  on  acre  of  fruitful  soil  waits  only 
for  the  cultivator  to  say  "  Sesame  !  "  We  are  not 
a  tax-ridden  folk  like  Italy  ;  our  country,  happier 
than  England,  produces  more  than  unwholesome 
beer  and  unpayable  corn.  We  wanted  only  the 
impetus  to  begin,  for  we  are  but  at  the  beginning. 
The  impetus  we  have  had  ;  what  follows  ?  Again 
Rliodope  will  become  a  sealed  land,  a  land  of  moun- 
tains and  inhospitable  ravines  to  the  civilized  world, 
a  minor  State,  an  insignificant  Balkan  province. 
Ah '  and  he  stopped  with  a  cleverly  taken  gulp- 
ing breath. 

Once  more  a  murmur  of  more  audible  applause 
thrilled  through  the  benches  ;  sympathy  seemed  on 
the  way  to  be  warmed  to  boiling-point.  Malakopf 
signed  to  the  Prince  to  cease,  but  the  latter  took  no 
notice,  and  the  Prime  Minister  held  himself  in  readi- 
ness to  make  his  attack. 

'  Two  years  ago — more  than  two  years  ago,'  con- 
tinued Petros,  speaking  slowly  and  regretfully,  '  I 
first  set  eyes  on  your  incomparable  land.  Many 
daydreams  were  mine.  To  the  best  of  my  poor 
ability  I  have  striven  to  make  them  real.  I  have 
devoted  my  time,  my  powers,  such  as  they  are — but, 
oh,  how  gladly ! — to  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  the 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  193 

country.  I  have  had  two  thoughts  only — loyalty 
to  my  wife,  loyalty  to  my  land — and  now ' 

Had  the  Prince  and  Malakopf  had  leisure  to  ob- 
serve, they  would  have  noticed  that  eyes  and  atten- 
tion were  no  longer  glued  on  them.  The  people  of 
Rhodope,  always  fond  of  drama,  were  having  a  de- 
lightful afternoon.  A  more  palpable  stillness  had 
fallen  on  the  House,  and  when  Petros  paused  on  the 
pathetic  word,  no  sympathy  thrilled  the  Assembly. 
But  his  great  point  was  approaching,  and  it  was  too 
imminent  for  Malakopf  to  disregard.  The  unstable 
tide  was  setting  too  strongly  for  him  not  to  interfere, 
and  as  he  rose  the  Prince  sat  down  in  an  assumed 
humility,  and  with  a  gesture  to  Malakopf  to  pro- 
ceed. 

'  I  have  a  question  to  ask,'  grated  out  the  Prime 
Minister.  '  The  Princess  Sophia  is  known  to  be 
tolerant  to  gambling,  yet  now  she  introduces  a  Bill 
condemning  it.  She  shuts  up  the  club  she  has 
opened — on  whose  suggestion  ?  We  are  here  in 
debate,  a  course  unprecedented  when  the  Crown 
introduces  a  Bill.  That  such  a  Bill  should  be 
opposed  is  beyond  question,  but  who  is  the  real 
author  of  it  ?  Who  but  one  has  persuaded  her  to 
this  course  ?  Too  long — I  say  it  openly — -have  we 
suffered  under  the  strange  whims  of  the  House  of 
iEgina.  Princess  Sophia,  as  you  all  very  well  know, 
spends  her  days  at  Monte  Carlo,  yet  she  treats  us 
like  children,  and  would  forbid  us  to  gamble  in 
Rhodope.  And  has  she  never  been  seen  at  the 
tables  ?     And  how  often  is  she  seen  in  her  place  in 

7 


194  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

this  House  ?  Who,  after  all,  is  the  Prince  Petros 
but  the  husband  of  the  gambling  Princess  ?  Who, 
after  all,  is  the  Princess  herself  ?  Her  place  is  here 
among  us,  but  where  is  she  ?  '  And  looking  round 
to  face  Petros,  he  faced  also  the  throne,  and  his 
speech  froze. 

Petros  sprang  to  his  feet,  determined,  like  Mala- 
kopf ,  to  play  his  last  card. 

'  I,  too,  am  no  friend  of  the  House  of  ^gina,'  he 
cried,  '  except  in  so  far  as  I  am  the  husband  of  the 
Princess.  We  want  a  ruler  who  will  have  the  true 
interests  of  the  nation  at  heart ;  we  want ' 

And  he,  too,  seeing  Malakopf  stare  open-eyed 
before  him,  stopped,  then  turned  round,  for  Mala- 
kopf's  eyes  were  fixed  not  on  him,  but  beyond. 

The  platform  where  stood  the  throne  and  the 
official  seats  of  the  Ministers  was  brilliantly  lighted. 
On  each  side  of  the  throne  were  three  seats,  un- 
tenanted, for  the  Ministers  were  all  in  the  body  of 
the  House.  On  the  throne  sat  Sophia,  who  had 
entered  through  the  private  door  from  the  Palace. 
She  was  dressed  in  white  brocade  ;  round  her  neck 
were  four  strings  of  diamonds,  conspicuous  among 
which  shone  the  Eastern  gem  ;  on  her  head  was  the 
great  tiara,  an  heirloom  of  Rhodope,  and  she  wore 
all  her  Orders.  She  sat  as  still  as  the  throne  on 
which  she  was  seated.  She  seemed  to  listen  to  the 
debate,  for  her  head  was  bent  a  little  forward,  and 
her  mouth  was  slightly  parted,  as  if  she  would  have 
something  to  say  in  reply.  The  sun,  low  to  its  set- 
ting, shone  full  on  her  through  the  window  above 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  195 

the  western  door,  and  she  was  enveloped  in  a  mantle 
of  rose.     The  beauty  of  her  was  incomparable. 

For  a  moment  there  was  dead  silence  when  the 
echo  of  Petros's  last  words  had  died  in  the  groining 
of  the  roof ;  then  she  raised  her  head  a  little,  and 
in  a  voice  of  gold,  '  His  Highness  Prince  Petros  is 
addressing  the  House,  gentlemen,'  she  said. 

Still  dead  silence,  except  for  some  woman  in  the 
gallery,  who  suddenly  burst  into  a  cackling  hysterical 
laugh. 

'  I  should  like  to  hear  my  husband  continue  his 
speech,'  she  said,  when  the  woman  had  stopped 
laughing. 

Malakopf  had  sat  down  ;  Petros  alone  continued 
standing.  Then  Sophia  rose,  but  the  House,  still 
open-mouthed,  continued  gazing  at  her.  She  drew 
herself  up  to  her  full  height. 

*  Gentlemen,'  she  said  ;  and  they  rose  to  their  feet. 

Without  a  shade  of  excitement  in  her  face  or 
hurry  in  her  movement,  as  if  the  subject  of  the 
debate  were  of  no  concern  to  her,  she  walked  across 
the  platform,  her  train  whispering  behind  her,  and 
down  to  the  Ministers'  bench.  Petros  was  in  the 
place  she  would  occupy  if  taking  part  in  the  debate, 
and  not  even  looking  at  him,  she  waved  him  aside 
with  her  hand. 

'  Do  not  leave  the  House,'  she  said.  '  I  have 
heard  your  speech  ;   you  shall  hear  mine.' 

Next  Petros  stood  Malakopf,  and  the  Princess 
swept  by  him  with  an  air  of  ineffable  disdain.  In 
her  hand  she  held  the  Bill  Petros  had  just  read  out, 


196  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

and  standing  in  her  place  she  glanced  through  it, 
and  her  face  flushed.  Then,  '  Be  seated,  gentlemen,' 
she  said. 

She  still  held  the  Bill  in  her  hand,  and  when  the 
House  had  seated  itself  she  tore  and  tore  it  through 
and  through,  and  again  through,  scattered  the  pieces 
on  the  ground,  and  burst  into  speech. 

'  That  for  the  Bill !  '  she  said—'  that  for  the  Bill 
which  falsely  and  impudently  is  before  the  House  as 
my  Bill.  Before  God,  I  never  set  eyes  on  the  thing 
before,  and  I  think  you  will  read  the  truth  of  what  I 
say  if  you  look  at  the  face  of  the  Prime  Minister  on 
my  left  and  on  the  face  of  my  husband.  It  is  one  of 
the  duties  of  Royalty  to  be  punctual,  and  am  I  not 
divinely  punctual  ?  Oh,  it  is  incredible  !  '  she  cried 
— '  it  is  incredible  that  two  men  could  be  so  infamous 
and  so  stupid  !  And  I  was  to  be  the  victim  of  this 
astounding  conspiracy — I  !  Indeed,  gentlemen,  I 
am  not  in  the  humour  to  be  a  victim.  You  heard 
the  Prince's  speech  ;  he  spoke  of  his  loyalty  to  the 
interests  of  the  country  ;  he  spoke,  as  I  thought, 
very  convincingly  of  the  benefits  the  club  had 
brought  to  our  country  ;  but  above  all,  to  cap  his 
insolence,  he  spoke  of  his  loyalty  to  me.  Did  a  man 
ever  hear  the  equal  of  that  ?  Oh,  Petros,  you  are 
unapproachable  !  '  and  she  looked  at  him  for  the 
first  time. 

Then  she  turned  to  Malakopf :  '  You  spoke  of  the 
strange  whims  of  the  House  of  ^Egina,'  she  said. 
'  The  strangest  of  all  their  whims  was  on  the  day 
that  you  were  made  Prime  Minister.     I  heard  you 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  197 

ask,  "  Who,  after  all,  is  the  Princess  Sophia  ?  "  I, 
after  all,  am  the  Princess  Sophia  !  "  Where  is  the 
Princess  Sophia  ?  "  you  asked.  Malakopf,  I  am 
here.  In  the  name  of  my  ancestors  !  she  cried, 
pointing  to  the  row  of  busts—'  in  the  name  of  my 
ancestors,  Alexis  Malakopf,  I  thank  you  for  your 
loyalty  to  my  House  1  ' 

Then,  turning  to  the  Chief  Justice,  '  I  impeach 
both  these  men  on  a  charge  of  high  treason  against 
myself,  Sophia,  hereditary  Princess  of  Rhodope. 
Let  them  be  removed  from  the  House  ;  they  await 
their  trial.' 

They  were  removed  in  custody,  and  till  they  had 
vanished  there  was  absolute  silence  in  the  House. 
Then  Sophia  rose  again. 

'  I  intend,'  she  said, '  to  make  no  further  inquiry 
into  this  prodigiously  futile  attempt  against  the 
throne.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  take  such  folly 
seriously,  and  were  I  not  a  little  angry  I  should 
laugh.  If  any  present  was  associated  with  that 
dismal  couple  we  have  seen  leave  the  House,  it  is 
a  matter  for  himself  alone,  and  let  him  thank  his 
Maker  that  I  heard  no  more  speeches  on  the  subject. 
This  Bill,  not  being  introduced  by  me,  falls  to  the 
ground.  And  now,  gentlemen,  for  a  pleasanter  task. 
I  am  here  according  to  immemorial  custom  to  thank 
my  Ministers  and  the  Members  of  this  House  for  the 
services  they  have  rendered  to  me  and  to  my  coun- 
try during  this  past  year.  We  have  seen  the 
revenues  increase  and  multiply  during  the  last 
eight  months  ;  never,  I  think,  has  Rhodope  been  in 


198  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

so  prosperous  a  condition.  I  thank  you,  gentlemen, 
from  my  heart  for  your  services.' 

She  curtsied  right  and  left  to  the  members  of  the 
Assembly,  and  then  stood  a  moment  silent. 

'  One  thing  more  only,'  she  said.  '  The  customary 
New  Year  fetes  will  take  place  as  usual,  and  Prince 
Petros's  list  of  in^dtations  is  mine.  Gentlemen,  the 
House  is  prorogued.' 

Flesh  and  blood  could  stand  it  no  longer  ;  Sophia's 
appearance  at  such  a  moment,  the  magnificence  of 
her  beauty,  her  royalty  of  demeanour,  would  have 
made  a  man  dumb  from  his  birth  to  shout.  The 
Minister  of  the  Interior  leaped  on  to  his  brocaded 
chair  like  a  schoolboy,  and  the  Chief  Justice,  being 
stout,  mounted  on  to  his  as  if  it  had  been  a  horse. 

'  Three  cheers,  and  another  and  another,  for  the 
beloved  Princess  Sophia  !  '  he  cried,  waving  his  three- 
cornered  hat. 

The  scene  was  indecorous  in  the  extreme.  Some 
jumped  on  to  their  chairs,  others  on  to  the  table  ; 
they  pounded  the  ground  with  sticks  and  stamped 
and  yelled.  The  chair  of  the  Chief  Justice  collapsed 
under  him,  but  those  near  said  he  continued  cheer- 
ing even  at  the  moment  his  head  came  into  sharp 
collision  with  the  marble  floor.  The  gallery  was  one 
open  mouth,  roaring.  It  had  already  got  about  the 
town  that  the  Princess  had  come  back,  and  when  she 
appeared  at  the  main  door  leading  into  the  square, 
where  her  carriage  was  waiting  for  her,  a  sea  of 
faces  met  her.  As  the  door  was  opened  the  shouts 
of  those  inside  streamed  out  like  a  river,  and,  like 


THE  PRINCESS  IS  THERE.  199 

the  sea,  the  voices  of  the  crowd  outside  swallowed 
them  up.  In  a  moment  her  horses  were  unhar- 
nessed, and  the  folk  fought  and  pushed  for  a  place 
between  the  shafts.  Indeed  Sophia  had  come 
back. 


CHAPTER    XL 

A   FOOL   LEAVES    RHODOP6. 

Meantime,  at  the  Palace  the  large  house-party  who 
were  staying  with  Petros  for  the  New  Year  fetes  had 
heard  the  shouting,  and  wondered  a  little  nervously 
what  it  meant.  They  knew  that  the  Bill  for  the 
Abolition  of  Gambling-Houses  was  to  be  considered 
that  afternoon,  and  this  acclamation,  if  it  was  to  be 
referred  to  the  Bill,  could  only  mean  that  it  had 
been  thrown  out  by  an  enormous  majority.  If  so, 
how  did  Petros  stand  ?  Was  the  shouting  an  ap- 
plause to  his  vote  recorded  against  the  Bill  ?  And 
if  so,  how  did  Sophia  stand  ?  The  subject  was  a 
delicate  one  for  guests  to  talk  of,  and  they  pre- 
tended not  to  hear  the  shouting,  and  spoke  politely 
together  of  the  change  in  the  weather. 

But  it  ever  grew  in  volume,  and  the  noise  was 
getting  nearer.  Uncontrollable  curiosity  gained  on 
them,  and,  rising,  each  questioned  the  eyes  of  the 
others.  vSoon  the  shouting,  like  some  tide  on  the 
flow,  reached  the  courtyard  of  the  Palace,  and  a 
moment  later  the  doors  of  the  great  reception-room, 
where  they  were  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  Prince, 
for  the  dinner-hour  was  now  long  past,  were  thrown 


A  FOOL  LEAVES  RHODOPE.  201 

open  by  the  major-domo,  and  to  the  incredible  sur- 
prise of  all — for  she  had  dressed  at  the  English 
Legation — Sophia  entered. 

The  Princess  had  no  idea  who  formed  the  house- 
party  which  Petros  had  invited  for  the  New  Year 
fetes,  but  in  the  very  flush  of  her  triumph  it  did  not 
seem  to  her  possible  that  there  might  be  an  awkward 
moment  in  front  of  her.  But  had  she  known  what 
presences  that  door  flung  wide  would  show,  even  she 
might  have  paused.  But,  smiling,  and  on  fire  with 
the  music  of  the  shouting,  she  sailed  into  the  room. 
Just  in  front  of  her,  imminent  and  encompassing  as 
a  nightmare,  stood  Petros's  mother.  Princess  Caroline 
of  Herzegovina. 

That  remarkable  lady  was  English,  of  overwhelm- 
ing size,  and  she  always  denied  ever  having  been 
a  barmaid  at  the  Alhambra  Theatre.  She  was 
dressed — or  you  would  rather  say  bound — in  a  ruby 
velvet  gown,  her  ornaments  were  cairngorms  and 
turquoises,  and  her  fan  was  of  ostrich  feathers  dyed 
pink.  To  her  Prince  Petros,  in  a  moment  of  un- 
guarded confidence,  had  hinted  at  the  upshot  of 
this  night's  work,  and  when  she  saw  Sophia  her 
voluminous  bodice  remained  expanded  with  a  quick- 
taken  breath,  and  the  two  for  a  moment  looked  at 
each  other  in  silence.     Sophia  recovered  herself  first. 

*  Oh,  I  am  even  as  delighted  and  surprised  to  see 
you,  dear  Princess,'  she  cried,  '  as  you  are  to  see  me. 
I  appear  like  the  man  in  the  moon,  do  I  not  ?  It  is 
ages  since  we  met.  Where  is  Petros,  you  ask  me  ? 
Petros  is  detained  ;  '  and  she  passed  on,  shaking 


202  PRI^XESS  SOPHIA.       ' 

hands,  to  her  other  guests,  mistress  of  herself  and 
her  house. 

The  Princess  Caroline's  face  was  a  fine  study  for 
a  man  who  was  bold  enough  to  look  at  her.  Her 
black,  swarthy  eyebrows  meeting  over  her  large, 
parrot-like  nose  grew  knotted  with  thought ;  she 
could  not  doubt  but  that  something  had  happened. 
What  could  this  return  of  Sophia  amid  acclamation 
and  welcome  portend  ?  Where  was  Petros,  who  a 
few  hours  ago  had  gone  to  the  Assembly,  tremulous, 
yet  hopeful  ?  Malakopf,  too  ?  Malakopf  was  to 
have  dined  at  the  Palace  to-night.  He  had  not 
come,  and  already  Sophia  had  passed  through  the 
folding  dining-room  doors,  and  the  others  were 
following.  The  arrangement  of  the  table  had  been 
thrown  hopelessly  out  of  gear  by  these  alterations, 
but  Sophia  did  not  have  Malakopf's  chair  removed. 
She  herself,  with  an  extraordinary  naturalness  of 
manner,  talked  and  laughed  and  ate  and  drank 
heartily  and  with  great  enjoyment,  and  Princess 
Caroline  grew  momently  more  thunderous  in  aspect 
and  more  apprehensive. 

The  dinner  had  been  later  than  usual,  and  it  was 
nearly  ten  when  the  dessert  was  put  on.  Suddenly 
Sophia  rose. 

'  I  must  beg  the  attention  of  all  of  you  a  moment,' 
she  said.  '  You  will  probably  hear  a  strange  story 
when  we  go  to  the  ball  to-night,  and  it  is  as  well 
that  you  should  hear  the  truth  of  it  from  me,  though 
in  outline  only.  I  have  come  back  just  in  time  to 
nip  in  the  bud  a  plot  against  the  House  of  Mgina., 


A  FOOL  LEAVES  RHODOPE.  203 

against  me  and  my  son.  The  authors  of  the  plot 
are  consequently  unable  to  attend.  Let  us  rise 
from  table,  your  Royal  Highnesses,  my  lords  and 
ladies.' 

Princess  Caroline  wavered  a  moment,  then  threw 
herself,  fan,  eyebrows  and  all,  at  Sophia's  feet. 

'  Oh,  have  pity  !  '  she  cried,  and  in  her  emotion 
her  breeding  had  its  way.  '  Poor  Petros  never  meant 
any  'arm.  Oh  my  !  I  don't  know  what  I  shall  do  ! 
Where  is  poor  Petros  ?     Oh,  let  me  go  to  him  !  ' 

Sophia  motioned  to  her  other  guests  to  leave  the 
room,  and  they  were  left  alone. 

'  My  poor  dear  Princess,'  she  said,  '  Petros  has 
made  a  tragic  ass  of  himself !  He  has  been  quite 
incredibly  foolish  and  wicked.  I  am  very  sorry,  but 
I  gave  him  a  warning  before,  and  he  would  not  take 
it.  Oh,  don't  cry  so  !  He  will  not  have  his  head 
cut  off ;  but  he  will  never  sit  any  more  close  to  the 
throne  of  Rhodope,  because  he  tried  to  occupy  the 
seat.  Yes,  you  shall  see  him  to-morrow.  You  will 
not  come  to  the  fete  to-night,  of  course  ?  I  really 
am  very  sorry  for  you.  Oh,  please  get  up  !  Your 
tiara  has  fallen  off.' 

Prince  Petros — and  herein  was  a  sting — had 
ordered  the  fete  on  a  scale  of  unexampled  magnifi- 
cence to  celebrate  the  events  of  the  afternoon. 
These  events  had  turned  out  somewhat  wide  of  his 
conjecture,  but  the  magnificence  of  the  fete  was 
unimpaired,  and  very  fitly  commemorated  Sophia's 
return.  He  had  planned  an  enthusiastic  reception 
of  himself  and  Malakopf.     Sophia  took  their  place, 


204  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

but  the  enthusiasm  of  the  welcome  fully  came  up  to 
his  imaginings. 

The  High  Court  of  Justice  met  early  the  next  week 
to  try  Prince  Petros  and  Malakopf.  It  wa^  not 
difficult  to  find  witnesses  for  the  prosecution,  for  the 
whole  House  had  heard  Malakopf's  public  repudia- 
tion of  the  House  of  yEgina,  and  Prince  Petros,  wise 
for  once,  when  asked  whether  or  no  he  was  guilty  of 
high  treason  against  his  wife,  the  Princess  Sophia, 
pleaded  guilty,  hoping  thereby  for  a  mitigation  of 
his  sentence.  The  Lord  Chief  Justice,  as  he  was 
bound  to  do,  pronounced  sentence  of  perpetual  im- 
prisonment at  the  Princess's  pleasure,  and,  without 
ordering  the  removal  of  the  prisoners  from  the  dock, 
sent,  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  of  the  Court 
of  Rhodope,  a  message  to  her,  to  say  that  he  had 
done  his  duty,  and  waited  for  the  confirmation  of 
the  sentence.  She  had  also  petitioned  the  Court 
for  a  separation  between  herself  and  her  husband, 
and  this,  of  course,  was  granted  her. 

Sophia  had  spared  the  two  the  humiliation  of  a 
public  trial,  and  the  case  was  tried  in  camera,  there 
being  present  only  the  jury,  sufficient  witnesses  to 
establish  the  accusation,  the  judge,  and  the  counsel 
for  and  against  the  prisoners.  In  a  few  moments, 
however,  the  door  to  the  judge's  private  rooms 
opened,  and  Sophia  herself  entered. 

The  Chief  Justice  immediately  vacated  his  place, 
and  all  remained  standing  till  Sophia  had  seated 
herself.  She  was  dressed  in  black,  her  face  was  very 
stern,  and  Petros,  looking  thereon,  felt  his  hopes  die. 


A  FOOL  LEAVES  RHODOPfi.  205 

But  she  spoke  first,  not  to  him,  but  to  Malakopf. 

'  Alexis  Malakopf,  prisoner  at  the  bar,'  she  said, 
'  Prime  Minister  of  my  Government,  you  have  been 
found  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  for  you  I  have  no 
pity.  I  heard  your  words  spoken  in  the  Assembly, 
I  heard  your  astounding  insults  and  repudiation  of 
our  Royal  House.  How  is  it  possible  for  me  to 
mitigate  your  sentence  ?  You  are  not  young,  you 
have  not  been  led  away  by  another  ;  you  are  old, 
and  you  are  wicked.  Long  ago  I  knew  what  you 
were  planning,  long  ago  you  made  a  boast  that  my 
husband  was  but  the  glove  which  covered  your  hand. 
Do  you  remember  your  words  ?  I  see  that  you  do. 
I  may  have  been  unwise — I  have  been  unwise  in 
many  things— but  I  have  ever  dealt  frankly  with 
you.  I  will  hear  if  you  have  anything  to  say  in  your 
defence.  But  if  you  have  any  self-respect  left,  I 
cannot  conjecture  what  you  will  say.' 

There  was  silence  in  the  court. 

'  So  be  it,'  said  Sophia  at  length  ;  '  as  you  have 
sown,  so  shall  you  reap.  You  have  been  accused  of 
high  treason  to  my  house,  you  have  been  found 
guilty.  Your  crime  is  the  more  odious  in  that  you 
must  needs  act  through  another  ;  you  must  needs 
make  my  unhappy  husband  your  tool.  You  have 
done  a  monstrous  thing.  The  sentence  of  the  Court 
is  confirmed,  and  for  the  remainder  of  your  days  you 
are  confined  in  our  prison  at  Amandos.' 

Malakopf  was  removed,  and  when  he  had  gone 
Sophia  turned  to  Petros. 

'  Oh,  Petros,'  she  said,  leaning  forward,  and  speak- 


2o6  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

ing  so  that  he  alone  could  clearly  hear  her,  '  have  I 
deserved  this  of  you  ?  What  had  I  done  that  you 
could  treat  me  so  ?  Was  it  not  your  place  rather  to 
reason  with  me,  if  you  thought  I  was  acting  unwisely 
for  my  people  ?  If  you  thought  I  ought  to  have 
been  more  sedulous  in  my  duties,  should  you  not  have 
told  me  so  ?  Yes,  you  will  say  that  I  did  not  give 
a  very  patient  ear  to  you,  and  thus  the  fault  is 
partly  mine,  and  I  own  it.  But  no  good  fruit  ever 
came  out  of  disloyalty,  and  even  if  your  infamous 
plan  had  succeeded,  the  fruit  would  have  been  an 
apple  from  the  Dead  Sea,  dust  and  ashes  to  your 
mouth.  Perhaps  this  is  no  time  to  make  reproaches, 
but  we  shall  not  meet  again,  my  poor  Petros,  and 
what  I  have  to  say  to  you  must  be  said  now.' 

She  stopped  a  moment ;  her  voice  was  soft  with 
tears,  and  trembled.  The  unhappy  man  had  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands,  and  his  shoulders  shook  with 
his  sobbing. 

'  Petros,'  she  went  on,  '  what  a  change  is  here, 
since  when  you  came  so  gallantly  to  Amandos,  since 
we  sat  all  night  at  bezique,  since  we  rode  to  the 
review,  and  raced  home  !  We  have  not  made  a 
very  successful  marriage,  and  I  blame  myself,  be- 
lieve me,  as  much  as  you.  But  that  it  should  come 
to  this  !  There  I  blame  you.  Did  I  not  warn  you  ? 
Have  the  justice  to  admit  that  I  warned  you  when 
I  told  you  that  you  were  no  Napoleon.  Jesting 
words,  no  doubt ;  but  you  are  not  slow,  and  you 
saw  what  I  meant.  Oh,  I  know  well  that  you  saw 
what  I  meant.     Again,  when  I  left  Mavromati,  did 


A  FOOL  LEAVES  RHODOP6.  207 

I  not  say  that  I  trusted  you  to  the  utmost  ?  I 
could  think  of  nothing  which  should  have  been  so 
tonic  as  that.  If  there  had  been  one  seed  of  loyalty 
in  you,  those  words  should  have  warmed  and 
watered  it.' 

Petros  raised  his  head. 

'  Before  God,  Sophia,'  he  cried,  '  I  never 
thought ' 

She  shook  her  head. 

*  Do  not  say  that,'  she  said,  '  for  you  did  think. 
You  must  have  calculated  long  and  carefully.  I 
should,  I  think,  have  forgiven  you  if  you  had  in 
some  sudden  exasperation  tried  to  cut  my  throat, 
for  I  know  how  exasperating  I  must  often  have 
been ;  but  this  scheming  and  cold-blooded  con- 
spiracy, it  beats  me  !  I  cannot  understand  it.  My 
poor  friend,  I  do  not  mean  to  mock  at  you,  but 
you  would  have  been  a  more  successful  figure  to-day 
if  you  had  stuck  to  your  riding  and  your  bezique. 
Good-bye,  Petros  ;  we  shall  not  meet  again.  You 
shall  know  how  Leonard  grows  up.' 

He  buried  his  face  in  his  hands,  unable  to  look  at 
her,  waiting  only  for  the  confirmation  of  his  sentence. 
Sophia  paused,  allowing  her  emotion  to  quiet  itself, 
and  then  spoke  in  a  firm  voice  : 

*  The  separation  granted  by  the  court  between 
Prince  Petros  and  myself  is  confirmed,'  she  said. 
'  But  the  Crown,  having  pity  for  the  Prince's  youth, 
and  bearing  in  mind  that  he  was  no  more  than  the 
tool  of  another,  commutes  his  sentence  of  perpetual 
imprisonment  to  perpetual  banishment  from  the  realm 


2o8  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

of  Rhodope.  He  is  free  to  go  and  to  do  as  he  will 
outside  our  dominions.  He  will  leave  Mavromati 
this  afternoon  in  the  royal  yacht  Felatrune,  to  the 
commander  of  which  orders  shall  be  given  to  go 
where  the  Prince  directs.  He  will  be  removed 
secretly,  so  that  no  public  disrespect  shall  be  shown 
him.  I  thank  you,  my  Lord  Chief  Justice  and 
gentlemen.     The  court  is  adjourned.' 

She  stepped  down  from  the  Bench,  and  went  to 
the  front  of  the  dock,  holding  out  her  hand. 

'  Good-bye,  Petros,'  she  said,  and  with  a  sudden 
flood  of  tears  he  bent  and  kissed  it. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    EDUCATION   OF   THE    HEIR-APPARENT, 

Prince  Leonard  early  exhibited  that  same  craving 
for  diversion  and  excitement  which  had  made  the 
childhood  of  his  mother  so  full  of  incident  to  her 
teachers.  He  could  not,  as  she  had  done,  request 
reluctant  tutors  to  elope  with  him,  but  he  made  their 
lives  burdensome  by  a  scientific  curiosity  to  observe 
their  conduct  under  such  trying  circumstances  as 
the  cold  aspersion  of  unsuspected  booby-traps. 
Indeed,  such  was  the  continuous  pressure  of  his 
animal  spirits,  and  his  greed  of  adventure,  that  the 
gentlemen  who  held  these  brief  appointments  were 
as  precariously  situated  as  engine-drivers  the  boilers 
of  whose  machines  might  be  expected  momentarily 
to  burst.  He  was  an  excellent  rider,  born  to  the 
saddle,  and  at  the  age  of  eleven  his  handicap  at  golf 
was  only  nine.  He  had  a  fanatical  abhorrence  of 
his  lessons,  and  his  natural  linguistic  powers,  and 
the  royal  birthright  of  memory,  made  whatever 
intellectual  task  he  was  good  enough  to  undertake 
extremely  easy  to  him.     He  had  the  fair  skin  and 


210  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

dark  hair  of  his  mother,  and  in  the  whole  realm  of 
Rhodope  there  was  not  a  more  lovable  or  so  un- 
manageable a  boy. 

When  he  was  just  thirteen,  he  indulged  in  a  series 
of  escapades  that  made  Sophia  take  him  seriously. 
The  first  of  these  was  that  he  challenged,  fought 
with,  and  wrought  havoc  upon  the  pasty  person  of 
the  son  of  the  Mayor  of  Amandos,  an  act  undignified 
in  one  of  his  station,  and  performed  in  a  manner 
distressingly  public.  The  two,  stripped  to  their 
shirts  and  trousers,  had  fought  three  rounds  in  the 
square  in  front  of  the  cathedral,  while  Sophia,  with 
whom  Leonard  had  been  driving  to  a  public  func- 
tion, paid  a  call  of  condolence  on  the  wife  of  the 
Mayor,  a  victim  to  neuralgia.  The  Princess  and  she 
had  been  sitting  in  a  room  overlooking  the  square, 
when  the  hubbub  from  outside,  and  shouts  of  '  Go 
it.  Prince  Leonard  !  Three  to  one  on  the  Prince  !  ' 
caused  them  simultaneously  to  rise,  and  run  in 
apprehensive  haste  to  the  window.  The  carriage, 
which  had  waited  in  the  street,  was  tenantless,  the 
Prince's  hat  and  sailor  jacket  were  lying  in  the 
road,  a  crowd  of  street-boys  made  an  enthusiastic 
ring,  and  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne  had  his 
opponent's  head  comfortably  in  chancery.  The  wife 
of  the  Mayor  gazed  but  for  one  moment,  and  then 
shrieking  out,  *  The  monster  !  he  will  kill  my  child  ! ' 
rushed  distractedly  from  the  room.  Sophia  followed, 
and  on  the  stairs  ran  into  the  boy's  tutor,  who,  being 
totally  unable  to  stop  him  fighting,  had  very  sensibly 
hastened  to  tell  his  mother.     The  Mayoress  bore  her 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     211 

battered  offspring  away,  and  Sophia  returned  to  the 
carriage  with  Leonard. 

'  Oh,  mother,  didn't  I  give  it  him  !  '  cried  the  boy. 
'  My  knuckles  are  quite  sore  with  hitting  his  great 
head.     He  couldn't  have  lasted  another  round.' 

'  Put  on  your  jacket  at  once,  Leonard,'  said  his 
mother  sternly.  '  You,  the  Prince,  fighting  in  the 
pubhc  street !     I  wonder  you  are  not  ashamed  !  ' 

'  But  I  couldn't  help  it,'  cried  Leonard.  '  I  had 
to  fight  him.     He  said  things  about  you.' 

'  Don't  talk  so  loud,  Leonard,'  said  Sophia.  '  Tell 
me  what  he  said.' 

'  He  said  that  you  were  the  most  notor — notorious 
— he  always  uses  words  a  yard  long — the  most 
notorious  gambler  in  Rhodope  ;  so,  of  course,  I  said 
he  lied,  and  would  he  fight  or  take  a  licking  ?  In- 
deed, he  did  both.' 

His  mother  flushed  with  pleasure,  but  she  sighed 
at  the  end. 

'  I'm  afraid  he  was  near  the  mark,  Lennie,'  she 
said. 

'  But  what  is  notorious  ?  '  asked  Leonard.  '  I 
didn't  know  what  he  meant,  but,  anyhow,  it  was 
calling  you  names  ' 

'  It  means  the  most  regular,'  said  Sophia. 

Leonard  considered  a  moment  with  his  head  on 
one  side. 

'  That  doesn't  sound  very  bad,'  he  said  ;  '  but, 
anyhow,  he  had  no  business  to  say  so.  No.  I'm 
glad  I  fought  him.     Lord,  how  sore  he  will  be  1  ' 

He  smoothed  his  ruffled  hair,  and  put  his  hat  on. 


212  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  I  suppose  it  is  true  that  you  are  at  the  club 
pretty  often  ?  '  he  continued.  '  Mother,  will  you 
take  me  there  sometimes  ?     I  have  never  been.' 

Sophia  felt  suddenly  serious  and  responsible. 

'  No  ;  never,'  she  said  with  energy.  '  Promise  me 
you  will  never  go.  I  certainly  shall  not  take  you 
there  ;  it  is  no  place  for  you.' 

'  Then,  some  day  I  shall  go  without  you,'  re- 
marked Leonard. 

Sophia  was  so  anxious  that  he  should  not — why, 
it  perhaps  would  have  puzzled  her  to  say,  except 
that  she  vaguely  pictured  his  fresh  young  face  look- 
ing singularly  out  of  place  in  that  gas-Ut  assembly — 
that  she  did  her  best  to  persuade  him  to  promise 
that  he  would  never  set  foot  in  the  club,  but  un- 
avaihngly.  The  more  she  urged,  the  more  Leonard's 
desire  to  go  increased. 

'  And,'  as  he  remarked  with  candour,  '  I  shan't 
make  a  promise,  because  then  I  should  feel  obliged 
to  keep  it.' 

So  at  last  she  desisted,  feeling  she  would  have 
been  wiser  not  to  have  urged,  and  hoping  that  the 
boy  would  forget  about  it ;  for  she  would  sooner  he 
fought  the  Mayor's  son  than  cut  his  gambhng  teeth, 
and,  indeed,  the  history  of  their  quarrel  had  warmed 
her  heart. 

Two  evenings  afterwards  she  was  sitting  at  her 
usual  place  on  the  right  of  Pierre,  playing  roulette. 
She  was  enjoying  a  rare  run  of  luck,  and  her  stakes 
were  recklessly  high.  She  had  just  placed  the  limit 
on  a  single  number,   when,   looking  up,   she  saw 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     213 

opposite  her  a  young  girl  seated  at  the  table  watch- 
ing the  game  with  flushed  and  wide-eyed  interest. 
She  turned  to  Blanche  Amesbury,  who  was  sitting 
next  her. 

'  Look  at  that  pretty  child  opposite,'  she  said. 
'  But  what  a  Way  to  dress  a  girl !  She  must  be  the 
daughter  of  that  English  brewer  peer.  What  re- 
fined types  you  meet  among  the  bourgeois  !  How 
its  dear  little  heart  is  in  the  game  !  Yet  it  seems 
almost  a  shame  to  bring  it  here — this  is  no  place  for 
children — but  the  nouveaiix  riches  are  always  hor- 
rible.    Why Oh,     good    gracious    me !      it's 

Leonard.' 

Leonard  caught  the  sound  of  his  name,  and  looked 
up  for  a  fraction  of  a  second. 

'  Oh,  a  moment — a  moment  !  '  he  cried.  '  Four- 
teen, fifteen Hurrah  !  sixteen  wins.     Good  old 

sixteen  !  I  wish  I  had  staked  on  a  single  number 
instead  of  the  half-dozen.' 

He  had  been  so  absorbed  in  the  game  that  for  a 
moment  he  did  not  notice  his  self-betrayal,  nor  the 
shout  of  laughter  Which  followed  ;  but  now  he  stood 
there  in  all  the  conscious  shame  of  his  girl's  dress. 
He  blushed  up  to  the  roots  of  his  hair,  and  pushed 
his  Way  confusedly  out  of  the  room,  forgetting  even 
to  take  with  him  what  he  had  won  on  the  last  roll. 

Sophia  tried  to  look  grave  and  unconscious,  but 
in  a  few  seconds  the  corners  of  her  mouth  broke 
down,  and  she  leaned  back  in  her  chair  with  peal 
after  peal  of  laughter. 

'  Oh,  I  could  never  have  invented  so  divinely  apt 


214  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

a  punishment !  '  she  cried.  '  Leonard  detected  in  a 
girl's  dress,  and  before  all  the  people  !  Indeed,  that 
is  an  instance  of  the  fierce  light  that  beats  upon  a 
throne.  Oh,  how  furious  he  will  be  !  I  wonder 
where  he  got  his  costume.  His  hat — oh,  my  dear 
Blanche  !  his  hat  !  It  was  like  Covent  Garden  on 
a  summer's  morning — a  cargo  of  flowers  and  name- 
less vegetables.  Oh,  I  cannot  stop  ;  I  must  go  and 
rub  the  lesson  in.  He  has  a  horror  of  making  him- 
self ridiculous.  Perhaps  this  will  cure  him  for 
awhile.' 

Sophia  went  straight  back  to  the  Palace,  where 
the  servants  Were  all  agape  to  see  her  return  so  early, 
and  to  Leonard's  room.  He  had  got  there  only  a 
moment  before  her,  since  she  had  taken  the  short- 
cut through  the  private  door  in  the  Palace  garden, 
and  he  was  tearing  the  detected  finery  from  him. 
On  his  bed  lay  the  hat,  a  perfect  garden  of  magenta 
roses  and  sage-green  ribbons,  and  he  Was  even  then 
wrestling  with  the  hooks  and  eyes  of  the  bodice. 
The  boy  stamped  his  foot  angrily  when  he  saw  her, 
and  his  cheeks  were  redder  than  the  roses  in  his  hat 
and  infinitely  more  healthy  in  tone. 

'  Why  did  you  make  a  fool  of  me,  mother,'  he 
cried,  '  before  all  those  people  ?  I  shall  never  be 
able  to  go  to  the  Casino  again.  It  was  brutal  of  you, 
and  I  was  enjoying  myself  so  much.' 

Sophia  burst  out  laughing. 

'  Dear  Lennie,  what  a  lovely  hat !  '  she  cried. 
'  Where  did  you  get  it  ?  I  shall  order  one  like  it, 
and  we  will  go  driving  together  in  them.     Do  you 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     215 

propose  to  wear  that  dress  always  instead  of  your 
sailor  clothes  ?  It  is  not  very  well  cut.  As  for  my 
making  a  fool  of  you,  I  think  you  are  more  to  blame 
than  I.     How  could  you  do  such  a  thing  !  ' 

'  It  was  your  fault,'  cried  he.  '  I  had  forgotten 
everything  in  the  game.  Oh,  these  strings !  I 
think  the  devil  made  them.' 

'  And  a  fool  tied  them,'  said  Sophia.  '  Here,  let 
me  do  them  for  you.  I  thought  the  dress  did  not 
fit  very  well,  and  no  wonder,  if  you  had  your  shirt 
on  under  the  bodice  and  your  trousers  under  the 
skirt.  And  where  are  your  stays  ?  It  is  all  your 
fault,  Leonard  ;  I  told  you  not  to  go  to  the  club.' 

'  I  hope  you  didn't  think  I  was  going  to  obey 
you  ?  '  said  Leonard,  with  singular  contempt. 

'  Anyhow,  you  thought  fit  to  disobey  me — oh, 
don't  wriggle  so  ! — and  you  have  been  very  properly 
paid  out  for  it.  You  are  too  young  to  gamble.  My 
poor  boy  !  every  shopkeeper  in  Rhodope  is  laughing 
at  you  this  moment,  and  I'm  sure  I  don't  wonder. 
For  me,  I  have  never  been  so  nearly  hysterical ;  I 
was  helpless  with  laughter.  I  told  you  you  were  too 
young  to  gamble,  and  you  would  not  take  my  word 
for  it.  You  have  been  very  naughty  and  disobedient, 
and  you  made  a  thorough  exhibition  of  yourself — 
within  three  days  to  fight  in  the  streets  and  to  dress 
up  as  Polly  to  go  to  the  Casino.  Oh,  that  hat ! 
What  a  creation  !  '  and  she  began  to  laugh  again. 
'  I  thought  you  were  one  of  the  bourgeois.' 

Leonard  stepped  out  of  the  skirt,  and  pulled  down 
his  trousers,  which  he  had  rolled  up  to  the  knees 


2i6  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

over   his  sturdy   calves,   and   regarded   his  mother 
critically. 

'  I  say,  mother,  you  know  you  must  have  begun 
pretty  young,  too,'  he  said.  '  The  earliest  thing  I 
can  remember  is  being  told  you  were  the  finest 
gambler  in  Europe.  I  watched  you  playing  to- 
night. You  played  very  quietly,  and  by  your  face 
a  man  could  not  tell  whether  you  had  won  or  lost. 
Is  that  the  chic  way  to  gamble  ?  ' 

'  That  is  the  only  way  to  gamble,'  said  she,  for- 
getting for  a  moment  the  moral  lesson.  '  I  have 
seen  men  and  women  tremble  so  that  they  could 
scarcely  pick  up  their  winnings.  Whatever  you  do, 
always  keep  quiet  at  the  tables.  There  is  no  such 
test  of  decent  breeding.' 

'  You  must  teach  me,'  said  Leonard  insidiously. 
'  We  might  play  for — for  counters  at  first,  quietly, 

at  home.' 

'  That  would  be  very  amusing,'  remarked  his 
mother,  '  and  roulette  for  two  would  certainly  be  a 
novelty  ;  but  I  don't  want  you  to  grow  up  a  gambler, 

Leonard.' 

'  Yet  to-night  I  found  it  very  entertaining  ;  and 
did  not  you  grow  up  a  gambler  ?  '  said  he.  '  Also, 
it  seemed  to  me  easy,  which  is  an  advantage.' 

'  Easy  !  There  is  no  such  word.  There  is  good 
luck  and  bad  luck  ;  that  is  all  the  vocabulary.' 

'  When  did  you  first  begin  playing  ?  '  asked  he, 

'  When  I  was  too  young.' 

'  Then,  I  expect  that  was  a  very  long  time  ago,' 
said  the  boy ;   '  for  I  do  not  see  how  you  can  begin 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR- APPARENT.     217 

too  early ;  '  and  with  this  the  conversation  closed. 
Sophia,  as  may  have  been  detected,  could  never 
have  been  predestined  to  attain  to  eminence  as  a 
disciplinarian,  and  Leonard's  tutors,  like  her  own, 
proved  about  equally  inefficient  in  managing  him. 
One  after  another  were  surveyed  by  the  boy,  and 
judged  wanting.  One  could  not  ride,  another  could 
not  shoot,  a  third  wore  spectacles,  and  topped  his 
drives  with  unique  regularity ;  but  one  and  all 
joined  hands  in  this,  that  they  were  totally  unable 
to  make  him  learn  except  when  he  chose  to  learn, 
or  to  exercise  the  slightest  discipline  over  him  out 
of  lesson  hours,  and  very  little  in. 

Sophia  soon  grew  considerably  exercised  about  the 
boy.  She  had  begun  to  see  that  the  atmosphere  of 
the  Palace  of  Amandos  was  not  entirely  wholesome. 
He  was  not  disciplined  in  any  way,  which  she  con- 
sidered the  worst  preparation  for  a  lad  who  would 
one  day  be  an  autocratic  Sovereign.  She  compared 
the  escapades  of  her  own  youth  with  his,  and  had  to 
confess  that  she,  at  any  rate,  had  been  a  little  in 
awe  of  her  father.  She  had  often  revolted,  but 
with  an  uneasy  feeling  that  consequences  might 
follow,  and  thus  disobedience  had  its  drawbacks. 
Leonard,  on  the  other  hand,  disobeyed  her  whistling, 
with  his  tongue  in  his  cheek,  and  to  him  disobedience 
never  seemed  to  bring  with  it  any  drawbacks  at  all. 
By  the  time  she  saw  him  next  she  would  have  for- 
gotten about  the  incident,  or  if  she  remembered  it, 
and  began  a  little  homily,  Leonard  would  shut  his 
eyes,   turn  down  the  corners  of  his  mouth,   and. 


2i8  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

with  an  air  inexpressibly  comic,  say,  '  Let  us  pray,' 
Once  she  had  instructed  Mr.  Lanthony,  the  tutor 
with  the  spectacles,  not  without  much  inward  mis- 
giving, to  use  the  cane  to  Leonard  next  time  punish- 
ment was  necessary,  and,  such  an  occasion  occur- 
ring within  an  hour  of  the  edict,  Leonard  had  thrown 
a  copy  of  Magnall's  Questions  at  Mr.  Lanthony's 
face  when  he  produced  the  cane  with  so  much 
precision  that  his  spectacles  were  dashed  into  a 
thousand  fragments,  and  his  eyes  gushed  out  with 
involuntary  water.  His  mother  had  not  told  the 
boy  that  the  proposed  caning  was  consonant  to  her 
orders,  and  Leonard  came  to  her  in  much  in- 
dignation. 

'  Mother,'  he  cried,  '  you  couldn't  guess  what  has 
happened  if  you  tried  a  hundred  times :  that  old 
giglamps  said  he  would  cane  me  this  morning — 
me  !  '  and  he  tapped  his  waistcoat. 

'  I  am  convinced  you  deserved  it,'  said  his  mother 
calmly. 

'  And  I  am  convinced  that  his  spectacles  will  never 
be  fit  to  see  through  again,'  retorted  Leonard,  angry 
at  finding  her  so  uns^nnpathetic. 

'  Leonard,  what  have  you  done  ?  '  she  said. 

'  I  threw  IMagnall's  Questions  at  him  hard,'  he 
said  ;  '  and  thus  his  spectacles  are  not  worth  any- 
thing now.' 

'  You  wicked  boy  !  '  cried  his  mother.  '  It  was  I 
who  told  Mr.  Lanthony  to  cane  you.  You  are  very 
naughty  and  mischievous,  and  you  must  go  and  beg 
Mr.  Lanthony's  pardon,  and  take  your  caning  like 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     219 

a  man  ;  and  your  pocket-money  shall  be  stopped 
to  pay  for  his  spectacles.' 

Down  went  the  corners  of  Leonard's  mouth. 

'  Oh,  dear  !  '  he  sighed  ;  '  let  us  pray  ;  but  get  it 
over  quick.' 

In  effect  Mr.  Lanthony  had  to  do  without  the 
apology,  and  Prince  Leonard  without  his  caning  ; 
but  the  tutor  had  an  interview  with  Sophia,  and, 
after  tendering  his  resignation,  ventured  to  offer  a 
word  of  advice. 

'  I  should  lose  no  time  in  sending  him  to  Eton,' 
he  said. 

'  Who  is  Eton  ?  '  asked  his  mother. 

Mr.  Lanthony  was  frankly  horrified. 

'  Eton  is  a  school,  your  Royal  Highness,"  he  re- 
plied ;  '  in  fact,  it  is  the  school.  It  seems  strange 
to  an  Englishman  to  find  even  in  Rhodope  that 
Eton  is  unknown  ;  but  "  Non  cuivis  attingit  adire 
Corinthum."  ' 

'  I  beg  your  pardon  ?  '  said  Sophia  politely. 

'  I  merely  said  Eton  was  a  school,'  said  Mr. 
Lanthony. 

'  I  think  I  have  heard  of  it,  now  I  consider,'  said 
Sophia.  '  It  is  near  Windsor,  is  it  not  ?  What 
does  one  do  ?  Shall  I  take  a  house  for  him,  or 
will  he  live  in  London,  and  go  down  for  an  hour 
or  two  every  day  ?  ' 

'  That  will  not  be  necessary,'  replied  Mr.  Lanthony. 
'  The  house,  on  the  other  hand,  will  take  him  ;  '  and 
he  sketched  to  the  Princess  the  main  features  of  a 
public  school. 


220  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  Yes,  it  sounds  nice,'  she  said  vaguely  ;  '  but  he 
is,  as  you  know,  so  high-spirited.  Will  they  try  to 
cane  him  there  ?  I  tremble  to  think  what  will 
happen— dear  me !  your  eye  is  bad,  Mr.  Lanthony 
— if  the  headmaster  tries  to  cane  him.' 

Mr.  Lanthony  gave  the  ghost  of  a  smile.  His 
mouth  was  untouched  by  Magnall's  Questions. 

'  I  don't  think  you  need  consider  that,  your 
Royal  Highness,'  he  said — '  at  least,  you  need  not 
be  uneasy  for  the  headmaster  ;  nor,  indeed,  for 
the  Prince — the  birch  is  quite  harmless.' 

'  The  birch  !  *  cried  Sophia.  '  How  terrible  it 
sounds  !  ' 

'  It  is  of  no  consequence,'  said  Mr.  Lanthony 
gravely  ;  and  the  pain  of  Magnall's  Questions  grew 
sensibly  less. 

'  Well,  we  must  ask  Leonard,'  said  his  mother. 
'  Supposing  he  refuses  to  go  ?  What  are  we  to  do 
then  ?  I  don't  think  either  of  us  has  much  influence 
with  him,  you  know.' 

But  Leonard,  when  appealed  to,  was  considerably 
taken  with  the  idea  ;  there  would  be  a  lot  of  boys  to 
play  with,  and  he  wanted  to  go  to  England. 

'  I  expect  it's  more  fun  with  heaps  of  other  boys 
than  with  one  old  muff  at  a  time,'  he  said.  '  Yes, 
I'll  be  an  Eton  boy.' 

When  Sophia  had  made  up  her  mind  to  a  thing, 
she  was  not  slow  to  put  it  into  execution.  She 
wrote  an  exceedingly  kind  and  condescending  letter 
to  the  headmaster,  giving  him  to  understand  that 
she  was  prepared  to  confer  this  priceless  boon  on 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     221 

Eton  at  Mr,  Lanthony's  recommendation  ;  but  that 
gentleman,  to  whom  she  read  it,  advised  another 
tone.  The  headmaster  was  radically-minded,  and 
would  not  be  likely  to  be  dazzled  at  the  prospect ; 
she  could  put  it  more  simply.  Indeed,  perhaps  it 
would  be  better  if  he  wrote  himself  to  a  house- 
master he  knew  there,  asking  if  he  could  by  any 
means  secure  a  vacancy  in  his  house  for  a  boy  aged 
fourteen,  or  if  he  knew  of  anyone  else  who  had 
a  vacancy.  All  this  sounded  terribly  democratic 
to  the  Princess ;  but,  having  failed  so  signally 
herself  with  Leonard,  she  was  desirous  that  other 
more  practised  hands  should  take  the  reins  from 
her,  and  she  would,  so  she  expressed  herself  with  a 
little  acidity,  go  down  on  her  knees  before  all  the 
masters  in  Christendom  if  this  were  the  more 
proper  attitude  to  take. 

It  was  finally  arranged  that  Leonard  should  enter 
the  school  in  April,  and  Sophia  threw  herself  with 
zest  into  the  scheme.  She  conferred  on  his  house- 
master the  Second  Order  of  the  Bronze  Cross,  and 
sent  him  the  key  to  a  private  cipher,  by  means  of 
which  he  could  daily  communicate  with  her.  She 
asked  whether  £1,000  pocket-money  a  term  would 
be  sufficient  to  supply  her  boy  with  school  requisites, 
and  whether  she  should  open  an  account  for  him  at 
the  Eton  and  Windsor  Bank.  She  hoped  they 
would  all  remember — perhaps  he  would  be  so  good 
as  to  speak  to  his  colleagues  about  it — how  exceed- 
ingly high-spirited  the  Prince  was,  and  how  little 
discipline  he  had  yet  received.     Finally,  she  drove 


222  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  unfortunate  man  to  the  verge  of  imbecility  by 
saying  that  she  hoped  they  allowed  no  roulette  ai 
all  in  the  school,  and  only  vingt-et-un  at  moderate 
points.  Mr.  Lanthony  had  already  left  for  England 
before  this  unhappy  series  of  letters  was  despatched, 
or  some  of  them  might  have  been  averted. 

Leonard  left  for  England  at  the  end  of  March, 
and  it  was  in  a  way  an  immense  relief  to  his  mother 
when  he  had  gone,  for  she  felt  strangely  responsible 
for  his  education.  She  had  made  up  her  mind  that 
he  was  to  be  a  good  ruler,  and  she  saw  clearly  that 
Rhodope  was  no  place  for  him  yet.  Her  own 
popularity  had  redeemed,  so  far,  her  reign  from 
failure,  but  she  was  candid  enough  to  allow  that 
she  might  have  let  her  sphere  border  more  nearly 
on  usefulness.  Prince  Petros's  mad  attempt  had 
been  an  unexampled  piece  of  luck  ;  it  had  given 
her  an  eclat  she  could  scarcely  have  won  otherwise, 
so  also  had  her  institution  of  the  club.  She  had 
founded  it  to  supply  amusement  to  herself ;  she 
found  that  she  had  given  occupation  to  her  people. 
But  already  she  foresaw  that  in  the  course  of  years 
the  morals  of  the  people  would  deteriorate,  the  hardy 
mountain  folk  would  become  people  of  the  asphalt, 
of  the  gaslight.  As  long  as  the  club  continued  to 
act  as  a  star  for  the  enjoyment  of  health-questing 
moths,  so  long,  no  doubt,  would  the  Budget  of  Rho- 
dope be  a  pattern  to  other  more  puritanically  con- 
stituted States  ;  but  the  surplus  on  the  Budget 
would  be  paid  for  in  other  ways.  She  saw  the  sheep 
of  Rhodope  without  their  shepherds  ;    she  saw  the 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     223 

vineyards  without  their  vine-diggers ;  she  dimly 
forecast  the  army  destitute  of  privates,  and  peopled 
only  with  honorary  colonels.  She  had  the  grace 
to  shudder  at  the  logical  outcome  of  the  era  she 
had  instituted,  only  she  could  not  in  her  own 
person  break  the  chain  of  circumistance  on  which 
it  hung.  Amandos  without  the  club  !  She  starved 
at  the  thought.  It  had  been  bad  enough  before  ; 
now,  when  the  days  there  had  actually  ceased  to 
be  tedious,  owing  to  the  diversions  supplied  by  her 
roulette,  with  what  a  cold  shuddering  of  the  spirit 
she  saw  herself  shorn  of  that  which  made  life  toler- 
able !  But  that  chain  of  circumstances  should  be 
broken  by  her  son.  She  had  endowed  him  with 
the  gambling  blood,  but  that  was  inevitable  ;  at 
least  she  was  now  making  an  effort  whereby  the 
hereditary  instinct  should  not  come  to  fruition. 
She  had  sent  him  to  England,  that  home  of  three- 
penny points ;  she  had  expressed  herself  most 
clearly  to  his  housemaster  at  Eton  on  the  question 
of  roulette.  She  could  not  have  done  more,  and 
her  conscience  approved  her. 

Meantime,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Europe  her  reputation  had  gone  abroad.  Her  great 
coup,  now  eleven  years  ago,  which  had  steadied  the 
tottering  House  of  ^gina,  had  taken  hold  on  the 
popular  imagination,  and  the  boldness  and  dash  of 
the  move  had  raised  up  in  real  hosts  those  unknown 
admirers  which  so  many  of  those  who  act  in  public 
secretly  and  mistakenly  suppose  are  theirs.  That 
return  from  Corfu,  triumphant  over  a  riotous  and 


224  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

wirecking  sea,  the  cross-country  sledge  journey,  the 
arrival  in  the  nick  of  time,  the  hopeless  and  utter 
defeat  of  her  husband  and  the  acuter  Malakopf,  her 
rapturous  welcome  by  the  people,  were  all  things  to 
enkindle  the  blood  in  an  age  in  which  diplomatic 
papers  are  sufficient  to  set  the  world  blazing.     She 
was    a    picturesque    figure,    and    an    unpicturesque 
epoch  has  always  this  saving  grace,  that  it  delights 
in  picturesque  figures  when  they  do  appear.     How- 
ever much  we  may  live  environed  by  gray  and  green, 
a  vivider  tint  is  ever  applauded.     Again,  she  was 
admirably  posed.     To  the  eye  of  Europe  she  went 
stake  in  hand  from  the  roulette-board  to  the  rescue 
of  her  House,  and  having  saved  her  House,  went 
back  to  where  the  ball  was  still  rolling  and  won. 
She  had  dash  and  brilliance  and  beauty,  she  was 
neither  prude  nor  puritan.     Indeed,  she  seemed  one 
of  those  to  whom  success  comes  as  if  by  birthright. 
But  with  the  instinct  of  a  true  gambler,  she  called 
her  own  success  a  run  of  luck.     Sooner  or  later, 
unless  her  line  staked  on  another  colour,  it  would  go 
against  them,  and  her  resolution  to  reform  took  the 
shape  of  reforming,  or  rather  putting  on  the  other 
colour,  her  son.  Prince  Leonard.     She  was  deter- 
mined, at  the  sacrifice  of  her  natural  desire,  to  see 
him  but  seldom  ;    he  should  be  a  stranger  to  the 
tables  of  Rhodope  and  the  Riviera ;  he  should  play 
cricket  and  polo  and  hockey — whatever  that  was — 
instead  of  bezique  and  baccarat.     She  was  herself 
so  warm  an  admirer  of  the  open  air,  that  she  felt  she 
was  not  starving  him.     Had  she  not  been  a  Prin- 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     225 

cess,  she  would  have  chosen  to  be  a  man  and  a 
dweller  in  the  mountains.  Horses  and  dogs,  a 
keen  eye,  and  an  obedient  hand,  were  admirable 
things,  and  good  enough  for  anybody. 

For  the  next  few  years  Leonard  did  not  set  foot  in 
Rhodope  at  all,  and  he  saw  his  mother  occasionally 
only,  in  her  short  and  scarce  visits  to  England.  At 
Eton  the  high  spirit  which  his  mother  had  feared 
would  be  a  source  of  possible  danger  to  the  head 
had  shown  itself  reasonable,  and  in  the  course  of 
one  painful  interview  between  the  two,  of  which  the 
cause  was  tobacco,  and  the  end  the  birch,  no  books 
had  been  thrown.  He  did  the  minimum  of  work 
required  with  cheerfulness,  if  not  zest,  and,  far  more 
important,  he  was  immensely  popular  with  his 
fellows.  He  grew  tall  and  strong  on  the  banks  of 
the  Thames.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  got  into  the 
eleven,  and  in  the  match  against  Harrow  cracked 
the  enamelled  face  of  the  clock  at  Lord's  off  a 
half- volley  just  outside  his  leg-stump.  He  also 
indulged  in  various  other  amusements,  which  as 
yet  had  not  come  to  light,  but  which  appeared  in 
damning  concourse  very  shortly  indeed  before  he 
left. 

One  morning  in  July  he  went  into  his  room  after 
twelve  to  change  for  cricket.  On  the  table  were 
two  letters — one  from  his  mother,  who  told  him  that 
she  was  on  her  way  to  England,  and  would  arrive 
at  the  end  of  the  month.  She  would  stay  a  few 
days  in  London,  and  if  Eton  had  broken  up  he  had 
better  come  to  her  there.     It  was  long  since  she 

8 


226  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

had  been  in  London,  and  they  would  see  the  sights 
together,  from  the  Westminster  Aquarium  to  the 
Tower  of  London,  and  from  Madame  Tussaud's  even 
to  the  Zoological  Gardens  and  the  Adelphi  Theatre. 
There  was  no  harm,  she  said,  in  a  little  gaiety,  and 
she  did  not  wish  to  cut  Leonard  off  from  all  amuse- 
ments. The  other  letter  was  from  a  groom  of  some 
training  stables,  and  it  interested  him  far  more, 
for  it  gave  the  best  possible  account  of  Muley  Moloch, 
a  horse  which  Leonard  was  backing  heavily  for 
the  Eclipse  Stakes  at  Sandown.  Accordingly  at 
the  end  of  the  half  Leonard  went  up  to  London 
to  join  his  mother.  She  had  taken  a  great  suite 
of  rooms  at  the  Hotel  Metropole,  with  a  private 
entrance,  where  she  lived  under  her  usual  incognito 
of  the  Countess  of  .^gina. 

Leonard  arrived  late  in  the  evening,  and  found  her 
with  a  few  friends  playing  baccarat.  His  mother 
threw  down  her  cards  when  he  entered. 

'  Dearest  Leonard  !  '  she  cried  ;  '  but  I  should 
scarcely  have  known  you.  How  you  have  grown, 
and  how  you  have  improved  !  I  am  so  delighted  to 
see  you  again  !     Have  you  dined  ?  ' 

Indeed,  any  mother  might  have  been  proud  of 
him.  He  had  grown  up  tall,  well-looking,  and  with 
an  extraordinary  frankness  and  charm  of  manner. 
Though  he  Was  still  but  seventeen,  he  looked  almost 
a  man,  and  Princess  Sophia  felt  how  wise  she  had 
been  to  send  him  to  school. 

'  I  have  dined,'  he  said,  after  being  introduced  to 
his    mother's    guests.     '  And   if    you    will    let    me. 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     227 

mother,  I  will  join  you  in  your  game.     Baccarat,  is 
it  not  ?     A  good  game.' 

'  Oh,  Leonard,  what  business  have  you  to  know 
that !  '  cried  his  mother.  '  I  particularly  asked 
that  no  baccarat  should  be  allowed  at  Eton.' 

Leonard  laughed. 

'  It  is  strictly  prohibited,'  he  said  ;  '  every  boy 
at  Eton  will  tell  you  so.  Do  not  blame  the  masters. 
Will  you  lend  me  some  money,  mother  ?  ' 

Though  the  Princess  would  have  preferred  that 
he  should  not  play  at  all,  she  had  the  consolation  of 
seeing  that  he  played  well.  His  face  was  a  mask 
of  good  breeding,  not  an  eyelash  betrayed  emotion, 
and  he  looked  gravely  amused  whether  he  won  or 
lost. 

'  He  is  a  born  gambler.  It  is  in  the  blood,  you 
know,'  she  said  under  her  breath  to  her  cousin,  the 
Duchess  of  Winchester,  who  was  sitting  next  to 
her,  and  the  Duchess  thought  she  detected  pride  and 
not  regret  alone  in  her  voice. 

Mother  and  son,  as  arranged,  went  out  the  next 
few  days  to  see  the  sights  of  London.  To  the 
Princess  it  seemed  to  have  grown  sadder  and  foggier 
since  she  had  seen  it  last.  Their  expeditions  were 
mostly  made  on  foot,  for  the  Princess  loved  the 
bustle  and  stir  of  the  streets,  and  more  than  once 
they  made  the  top  of  an  omnibus  their  observatory. 

'  There  are  plenty  of  people,  certainly,'  she  said 
one  day  to  Leonard,  as  they  swayed  and  rolled  up 
Baker  Street  •  '  and  I  love  crowds.  But  observe 
their  infinite  sadness  of  demeanour.     What  a  load 


228  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

of  responsibility  seems  to  rest  on  the  least  and  mean-  '  ■ 
est  shoulders  !     Look  at  that  baker  there  !     If  he 
was  in  Rhodope  I  would  make  him  Court  undfer-*'' 
taker.     To  what  genuine  melancholy  is  he  the  prey  ! 
If  I  was  responsible  for  the  whole  creation,  I  should 
not  be  so  sad.     And  they  all  Walk  so  fast,  as  if  they  ? 
were  going  to  catch  the  dying  words  of  a  near  and 
dear  relative,  and  Would  only  just  get  there  in  time. 
After  all,  I  am  glad  I  am  a  Southerner.     We  may 
not  be  so  good,  but  we  are  certainly  gayer.     And  it 
is  certainly  good  to  be  gay.' 

They  stopped  at  the  comer  where  Madame  Tus- 
saud's  red  exhibition  stood,  and  Leonard,  who  for 
some  minutes  had  been  with  difficulty  restraining 
his  laughter,  suddenly  burst  out  into  a  great  shout  of 
amusement. 

'  England,  at  any  rate,  has  not  made  you  sad  at 
present,'  said  the  Princess.  '  What  is  the  matter, 
Leonard  ?  ' 

'  Oh,  nothing,'  said  the  lad ;  *  at  least,  you  w.'U 
soon  know.' 

She  paid  their  entrance-money — Leonard  tossed 
his  mother  who  should  pay  for  both,  and  won — and 
began  the  tour  of  the  room.  Suddenly  the  Princess 
gave  a  little  exclamation  of  horrified  surprise,  and 
rapidly  turned  up  No.  27  in  the  catalogue.  What 
met  her  indignant  eye  was  this  : 

*  The  gambling  Princess  Sophia. — Princess  Sophia 
of  Rhodope,  though  only  just  forty,  is  surely  the 
most  rankly  notorious  crowned  head  of  Europe. 
She  spends  the  greater  part  of  every  day  in  the  club 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR- APPARENT.     229 

she  has  started  at  the  capital,  Amandos,  and  the  era 
of^gambhng  she  has  introduced  is  rapidly  under- 
mifiing  the  physique  and  morale  of  her  little  king- 
dom. She  has  confined  her  old  Prime  Minister, 
Malakopf,  a  financier  of  European  reputation,  to  a 
life-long  imprisonment  for  some  imaginary  plot 
against  the  throne  ;  and  her  husband,  Prince  Petros 
of  Herzegovina,  she  has  divorced  and  banished  from 
the  principality  of  Rhodope.  He  is  described  by 
those  who  knew  him  as  a  man  of  charming  manner 
and  quick  insight.  The  Princess  has  a  violent  tem- 
per and  is  growing  very  stout.  Her  only  son.  Prince 
Leonard,  is  at  school  at  Eton.' 

The  room  was  almost  empty,  and  Leonard  put 
no  bounds  to  his  amusement.  He  stamped  and 
choked,  his  mouth  was  full  of  laughter. 

'  Oh,  oh  !  '  he  cried,  '  it  is  too  funny !  And, 
mother,  I  hear  they  are  thinking  of  sending  you  to 
the  Chamber  of  Horrors.  I  stayed  in  London  last 
long  leave  and  saw  it.  Oh,  oh,  the  Chamber  of 
Horrors,  with  murderers  and  Phoenix  Park  trage- 
dians and  people  who  have  their  throats  cut  in 
their  baths.     Oh,  I  shall  burst  !  ' 

Sophia  turned  icily  from  him,  read  the  description 
of  herself  through  again  in  the  catalogue,  and  then 
examined  the  figure.  It  Was  seated  in  the  most 
realistic  pose  in  front  of  a  small  green-cloth  table. 
One  hand  held  three  or  four  playing-cards,  the  other 
was  clutched  on  a  heap  of  counterfeit  cdins.  It 
represented  her  in  full  evening  dress,  with  the 
Order  of  the  Silver  Cross  and  the  Salamander  on 


230  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

her  shoulder,  both  faultlessly  executed.  Fler  dress 
was  of  white  brocade,  and  it  might  have  been  copied 
by  Worth  himself,  so  she  thought,  from  the  gown 
which  she  had  worn  on  the  night  of  her  memorable 
and  unexpected  home-coming.  The  pasty,  formless 
fingers  glittered  with  immense  glass  jewels  ;  she 
wore  a  tiara  of  diamonds,  and  a  copy  in  some  cheap 
and  tawdry  material  of  the  Rhodope  pearls. 

But  it  was  the  presentment  of  the  face  that  most 
appalled  the  Princess.  The  likeness  was  unmis- 
takable, yet  it  was  the  most  prodigious  parody. 
She  herself  was  pleasantly  furnished  with  flesh, 
the  waxwork  bulged  with  fatness.  Her  own  black 
eyes,  with  their  long  lashes,  became  wicked  lakes 
of  darkness,  her  fine-lipped  mouth  was  moulded  into 
evil  and  monstrous  curves.  Avarice  sat  enthroned 
in  her  greedy  expression  and  in  the  clutching  hand. 

The  Princess  examined  it  with  scrupulous  care, 
then  turned  with  a  petrified  face  to  Leonard,  who 
was  wiping  his  eyes.  Every  now  and  then  a  fresh 
gust  of  laughter  shook  him.  and  he  held  his  aching 
ribs  for  fear  they  should  burst.  Sophia  watched 
him  a  moment  with  malignity ;  it  seemed  yet 
doubtful  whether  she  would  run  her  parasc  through 
the  face  of  the  waxwork,  or  box  his  ears  ;  but  by 
degrees  the  infection  of  his  merriment  caught  her, 
and  sitting  down  by  him  on  a  crimson-covered  otto- 
man, she  gave  way  to  peal  after  peal  of  laughter. 
He  had  been  on  the  verge  of  recovery,  but  they 
mutually  infected  one  another,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments were   equally   lost   to   all  power  of  speech, 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     231 

and  could  only  point  feebly  and  shakingly,  as  they 
shook  and  rolled  on  the  sofa,  at  the  greedy  and 
clutching  figure  of  the  waxwork.  A  few  more  people 
had  come  into  the  gallery,  and  were  attracted  by 
this  convulsed  couple,  but,  with  the  supercilious 
contempt  with  which  the  English  regard  merri- 
ment in  which  they  do  not  share,  passed  them  by. 
Close  at  hand,  however,  sat  the  figure  of  the  gamb- 
ling Princess,  and  one  by  one  they  glanced  back 
furtively  to  the  real  one  on  the  crimson  ottoman. 
There  could  be  no  mistaking,  even  in  the  convul- 
sions of  her  laughter,  the  prototype  of  the  figure. 

Soon  Princess  Sophia  observed  this,  and  with  a 
sudden  accession  of  dignity  hurried  Leonard  off. 

'  Let  me  show  you  the  way  to  the  Chamber  of 
Horrors,'  he  said,  in  a  voice  vibrating  with  sup- 
pressed laughter,  '  so  that  you  will  know  where  to 
look  for  yourself  next  year.' 

They  could  give  but  a  superficial  attention  to 
that  temple  of  classical  criminals.  Sophia  longed 
to  go  back  to  her  own  figure,  which  exercised  a 
strange  fascination  over  her.  She  wanted  to  see 
the  manager,  to  have  him  to  dinner,  to  hail  him 
as  the  first  humorist  in  Europe.  Then  she  pro- 
tested that  it  was  monstrous  that  she  should  have 
to  pay  to  see  an  exhibition  in  which  she  herself 
was  so  leading  an  attraction.  She  was  half  inclined 
to  demand  her  money  back  at  the  door,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  treat  she  had  enjoyed  in  seeing  her- 
self as  others,  or,  at  any  rate,  that  strict  moralist 
who  wrote  the  account  of  the  figure,  saw  her.     The 


232  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Monument,  the  Zoological  Gardens,  the  ITnder- 
ground  Railway,  even  a  most  remarkable  play  at 
one  of  the  West  End  theatres,  where  two  ignoble 
gentlemen  cut  through  a  pack  to  see  who  should 
marry  an  heiress,  both  turning  up  sevens  and  then 
kings,  had  a  touch  of  bathos  after  Madame  Tus- 
saud's  ;  and  Leonard  and  Sophia  went  back  there 
more  than  once  and  found  the  joke  remained  of 
that  superlative  order  which  is  only  enhanced  by 
repetition.  The  Princess,  even  in  her  middle  life, 
retained  a  youthful  passion  for  being  amused,  but 
never,  so  she  thought,  had  she  made  a  better  invest- 
ment in  joy  than  with  those  shillings  she  paid  to 
the  doorkeeper  at  the  waxwork  show. 

She  remained  in  England  all  August  and  Sep- 
tember, and  in  the  third  week  of  that  month  Leonard 
went  back  to  Eton.  Sophia,  who  wished  to  see  the 
place,  paid  him  a  visit  there,  and  made  herself  re- 
markably popular  by  securing  for  the  school  the 
promise  of  an  extra  week  in  the  next  summer  holi- 
days, in  honour  of  her  visit.  In  eight  weeks  Leon- 
ard would  be  easily  repaid  for  his  four  days'  journey 
to  Rhodope,  and  she  intended  him  to  come  home, 
for  the  first  time  since  he  went  to  Eton.  Femme 
propose. 

She  was  to  leave  England  about  the  middle  of 
October,  and  a  week  before  she  should  have  started 
she  was  back  in  London  again  from  a  round  of 
visits.  One  morning  she  found  on  her  breakfast- 
table  a  letter  with  the  Eton  postmark  on  it,  but 
not  addressed  in  Leonard's  hand.     She  opened  it 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     233 

without  apprehension,  and  read  the  folowing 
statement  in  the  headmaster's  neat  and  scholarly 
handwriting : 

'  Your  Royal  Highness, 

'  Little  did  I  think  when  we  had  the  honour 
so  short  a  time  ago  of  welcoming  your  Royal  High- 
ness to  Eton  that  it  would  be  my  painful  duty  to 
write  this  letter  to  you.  Your  son,  Prince  Leonard, 
was  found  last  week  to  have  visited  the  Windsor 
races,  where  he  was  seen  smoking  and  talking  to 
a  successful  jockey,  whose  equestrian  skill,  so  it 
appeared,  had  been  the  means  of  winning  your 
son  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  This  offence 
could  not,  '  ^  course,  be  passed  over,  and  it  was 
my  duty  to  visit  it  on  him  in  the  most  severe  man- 
ner— in  short,  I  gave  him  a  flogging.  But  he  re- 
fused, apparently,  to  take  the  warning  to  heart, 
and  yesterday  evening  his  housemaster,  going  into 
his  room,  found  him,  with  several  other  boys,  en- 
gaged in  a  game  of  roulette.  This  was  more  particu- 
larly heinous,  since  I  well  remember  how  warmly 
your  Royal  Highness  urged  on  us  not  to  allow  rou- 
lette in  the  school.  I  therefore  beg  to  advise  your 
Royal  Highness  to  remove  Prince  Leonard  at  once 
from  Eton,  to  save  him  the  disgrace,  which  must 
otherwise  be  inevitable,  of  being  expelled.  The 
roulette -board  I  send  to  you  to-day  by  parcel  post. 
I  must  add  that  Prince  Leonard  was  most  anxious 
to  have  it  understood  that  he  had  persuaded  the 
others  to  play,  in  spite  of  their  unwillingness.' 


234  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Sophia  did  as  she  was  advised,  and  instantly- 
telegraphed  to  the  headmaster,  saying  that  she 
intended  to  remove  her  son  at  once  from  Eton. 
She  was  exceedingly  annoyed  at  what  had  occurred, 
and  felt  quite  angry  with  Leonard.  She  had  ex- 
pressly desired  him  not  to  play  roulette ;  it  was 
very  tiresome  to  be  disobeyed  like  this.  She  had 
hoped  that  he  would  have  learned  obedience  at 
school.  As  for  his  removal  from  Eton,  it  was  most 
inconvenient ;  she  was  at  her  wits'  end  to  know 
what  to  do  with  him.  It  would  hardly  be  possible, 
at  his  age,  to  send  him  to  Harrow ;  besides,  she 
believed  that  Harrow  boys  always  fought  with 
Eton  boys,  and  wore  swallow-tail  coats  in  the 
morning,  which  would  never  do.  That  the  head- 
master of  Harrow  would  not  be  infinitely  delighted 
at  his  entering  there  did  not  for  a  moment  occur 
to  her. 

Her  annoyance^was  very  materially  increased  by 
the  arrival  of  the  roulette-board.  It  was  a  villainous 
piece  of  construction,  faulty  in  carpentering,  odi- 
ously coloured  with  the  crudest  and  most  violent 
tints  ;  and  it  contained  two  zeros.  She  had,  as 
the  reader  will  have  gathered,  no  moral  objection  at 
all  to  gambling,  but  her  horror  of  not  doing  the  thing 
properly  was  vital  and  ineradicable.  In  a  fit  of 
anger  she  smashed  it  into  bits  and  threw  the  pieces 
on  to  the  fire. 

Later  in  the  day  Leonard  arrived,  completely 
himself. 

'  How  could  you  be  so  stupid  and  disobedient !  ' 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     235 

cried  the  Princess.  *  And,  Leonard,  to  play  witli 
that  roulette-board  is  a  disgrace.' 

Leonard  looked  up  in  surprise. 

'  How  have  you  seen  it  ?     Where  is  it  ?  '  he  asked, 

*  It  is  at  present  in  ash  in  the  grate,  and  its  finer 
particles  are  contributing  to  the  London  fog,'  said 
the  Princess,  with  some  asperity.  '  In  fact,  I  threw 
it  into  the  fire.     The  headmaster  sent  it  me.' 

'  I  thought  we  might  have  had  a  game  together 
this  evening,'  said  Leonard,  seating  himself.  '  What 
was  the  good  of  burning  it  ?  Besides,  it  was  mine. 
Oh,  mother  ' — and  his  handsome  face  flushed  with 
a  sudden  fresh  eagerness — '  you  never  saw  such  a 
run  of  luck  as  I  had  last  night !  I  staked  three 
times  on  thirteen,  and  Won  twice  !  ' 

'  On  thirteen  !  Good  gracious,'  cried  the  Prin- 
cess, '  it  is  madness,  Leonard  !  No  wonder  your 
housemaster  came  in  and  discovered  you.  Dear 
me,  I  remember  horrifying  your  poor  foolish  father 
so  much  at  Monte  Carlo  by  backing  single  num- 
bers. He  had  a  system.  Thank  Heaven,  you  did  not 
get  caught  playing  on  a  system !  The  disgrace 
would  have  been  double.     I  am  spared  that.' 

Sophia  pulled  herself  up  sharp,  for  she  was  aware 
that  her  instinct  had  taken  the  reins  from  the  seri- 
ous spirit  with  which  she  had  intended  to  handle 
Leonard.  The  Httle  homily  she  had  prepared  had 
merged  into  the  never-ending  discussion  on  the 
subject  of  number  thirteen. 

'  But  I  am  very  much  shocked  and  distressed  at 
all  this,  Leonard,'  she  went  on.     '  You  have  ruined 


236  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

and  cut  short  your  school  career,  and  disgraced  your 
name.' 

Leonard's  eyes  began  to  twinkle. 

*  How  about  Madame  Tussaud's  ?  '  he  asked.  '  I 
am  not  the  first.' 

'  That  is  beside  the  point,'  said  Sophia,  and  when 
the  boy  laughed  outright :  '  At  any  rate,  it  is  no 
good  talking  of  that.  Oh,  but  it  Was  very  funny ! 
Well,  Leonard,  I  do  not  mean  to  send  you  to  the 
other  public  school — what  is  it  called  ? — Harrow. 
Also,  I  do  not  intend  you  to  come  and  live  idly  at 
Rhodope.' 

*  No,  that  would  be  rather  too  slow  after  England,' 
remarked  Leonard. 

'  Well,  what  do  you  want  to  do  ?  Can't  you 
suggest  anything  ?  '  asked  the  Princess,  with  some 
impatience. 

'  I  should  like  to  stay  in  England,  or  travel, 
perhaps.     Yes  ;  why  shouldn't  I  travel  ?  ' 

'  I  think  that  is  the  best  thing  you  could  do,' 
said  the  Princess,  '  and  I  am  glad  you  suggested  it. 
But  I  shall  have  to  get  you  a  tutor  ;  it  will  be  a 
great  expense.  I  suppose  you  will  go  round  the 
world.  We  will  go  to  some  agent  to-morrow — I 
suppose  there  are  agents  for  such  things — and  see 
how  they  are  done.' 

As  usual,  the  Princess  put  her  purpose  into  effect 
without  loss  of  time.  She  advertised  for  a  travelling 
tutor,  and  for  three  days  made  the  life  of  Thomas 
Cook  and  Sons  but  a  parody  of  existence.  She  went 
to  the  docks,  and  inspected  large  numbers  of  ocean 


EDUCATION  OF  HEIR-APPARENT.     237 

liners,  and  at  length  fixed  upon  a  vessel  of  the  Pen- 
insular and  Oriental  line,  which  Would  take  him  as 
far  as  Egypt.  There  he  would  spend  a  few  weeks, 
go  on  to  India,  thence  to  Australia,  and  back  over 
America.  She  had  a  personal  interview  with  the 
captain  of  the  vessel,  and  insisted  on  all  the  games 
provided  for  the  use  of  passengers  being  turned  out, 
so  that  she  might  assure  herself  that  no  game  of 
hazard  was  played  on  board.  But  as  the  entire 
stock  of  entertainment  consisted  of  some  inglori- 
ous httle  rope-rings,  which  were  to  be  thrown  into 
buckets,  she  felt  no  further  anxiety  on  this  score. 
It  puzzled  her  to  understand  how  people  could 
find  amusement  in  this,  but  the  captain  assured 
her  that  they  did. 

She  saw  Leonard  off  on  a  drizzly  November  morn- 
ing. He  was  to  be  away  at  the  least  for  two  years, 
and  she  parted  from  him  with  some  emotion.  But 
the  conviction  that  she  Was  doing  the  wisest  thing 
for  him  was  a  large  consolation.  To  let  him  go 
back  to  Rhodope  with  all  his  inherited  instincts  of 
gambling  would  be  a  dangerous  experiment,  for 
she  Was  firm  in  her  resolve  that  he  should  prove  a 
good  and  useful  man,  a  ruler  who  might  be  able 
to  grapple  with  the  insidious  gambling  disease  which 
had  spread  so  direfully  through  the  country,  for  she 
felt  herself  unable,  morally  incapable,  of  dealing 
with  it.  Personally,  she  could  not  face  the  idea  of 
Amandos  shorn  of  its  club,  and  how  should  she,  the 
priestess  of  the  goddess,  recant  ?  She  was  deter- 
mined to  give  Leonard  the  best  chance  possible. 


238  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

He  should  live  on  vessels  where  only  rings  were  pro- 
vided for  entertainment,  and  when  he  landed  he 
should  shoot  animals,  and  see  mosques  and  wig- 
wams, and  other  tedious  and  exotic  objects. 

She  had  engaged  for  him  a  tutor  who  inspired 
her  with  confidence.  He  had  a  lofty,  commanding 
forehead,  with  high,  knobby  temples  and  a  pedantic 
and  instructive  manner.  He  kept  accounts  in  a 
book,  and  money  in  a  purse.  She  herself  had  tried  to 
teach  him  picquet,  and  was  delighted  to  observe 
that  he  seemed  almost  incapable  of  understanding 
the  ordinary  value  of  cards,  though  he  was  said  to 
be  a  fine  classical  scholar.  He  said  he  thought 
games  of  chance  were  irrational  amusements,  and 
though  in  sheer  loyalty  she  was  bound  to  attempt 
to  convince  him  they  Were  not,  she  was  delighted 
to  find  that  she  failed  egregiously.  And  next  day 
Sophia  saw  the  s.s.  Valetta  start  from  Tilbury,  bear- 
ing Prince  Leonard,  his  tutor,  and  the  little  rope- 
rings  out  into  the  siren-haunted  mists  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames. 


CHAPTER    XIIT. 

THE    PLAGUE-SPOT   SPREADS. 

A  FEW  days  afterwards  Princess  vSophia  herself 
started  on  her  return  to  Rhodope.  The  Felatrune 
was  to  meet  her  at  Monte  Carlo,  but  she  crossed 
France  overland.  Her  original  scheme  had  been  to 
go  by  sea  all  the  way,  but  this  saving  of  time  caused 
by  crossing  the  Continent  gave  her  a  balance  of 
eight  days,  which  she  proposed  to  spend  on  the 
Riviera,  where  she  lost  a  good  deal  of  money. 

Even  in  the  few  months  of  her  absence,  the  change 
which  had  come  over  her  mountain  kingdom  was 
startling.  The  crowd  of  foreign  visitors,  chiefly 
English,  had  never  been  so  great,  nor  the  season 
so  brilliant.  November  in  Rhodope  is  the  month  of 
months,  clear,  cool,  and  bracing,  with  a  sun  of 
heavenly  purity,  and  a  wind  just  frappe  with  the 
snows  which  have  fallen  on  the  higher  ranges  of  the 
Balkan.  The  air  has  a  sparkle  as  if  of  frost  in  it,  a 
translucent  brightness  which  in  the  North  we  asso- 
ciate with  the  white  rime  of  autumn  mornings.  To 
the  Princess,  fresh  from  the  damp  gray  of  England, 
and  the  tawdry  theatrical  brilliance  of  the  Riviera, 


240  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

her  home  seemed  an  enchanted  place,  and  for  once 
she  was  glad  to  get  back. 

The  club  had  pushed  the  limits  of  its  gardens  and 
kiosques  up  the  slopes  of  the  hills  behind  Amandos  ; 
bandstands  and  boulevards  were  loud  with  the 
orchestra  and  gay  with  colour.  Even  Monte  Carlo 
seemed  to  her  empty  and  depopulated  in  comparison. 
But  the  place  was  changed  in  other  ways.  The  dis- 
cipline of  the  army  was  relaxed  ;  a  Bill  had  been 
introduced  in  the  House,  and  passed  without  opposi- 
tion, which  abolished  conscription,  and  though  the 
people  were  as  picturesque  as  ever,  they  were  in- 
finitely more  idle.  The  demands  for  provisions  and 
wines  consequent  on  the  ever-increasing  hosts  of 
foreigners  who  flocked  to  the  town  had  made  living 
easier  than  ever.  A  man  could  work  two  days  a 
week  where  he  had  worked  six  a  few  years  ago, 
and  yet  find  his  earnings  undiminished.  It  had 
been  necessary  to  limit  the  number  of  members  of 
the  club,  and  in  consequence  a  hundred  other  gaming- 
houses had  been  started,  and  deep  into  the  hours  of 
the  night  shepherds  and  sailors  watched  the  roulette- 
marbles,  which  rolled  as  unceasingly  as  the  stars  of 
heaven. 

Sophia  was  almost  frightened  at  the  success  of 
the  era  she  had  inaugurated,  and  she  was  truly 
shocked  at  the  deterioration  which  counterbalanced 
the  increased  prosperity.  She  had  still,  even  in 
her  forty-first  year,  a  strong  love  of  keen  eyes  and 
fit  limbs  ;  her  admiration  for  a  fine  rider  still  warred 
with  her  respect  for  a  bold  player,  and  she  saw  to 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.         241 

her  dismay  that  a  nation  of  gamblers  tends  to  lose 
its  grip  of  the  saddle.  The  Life  Guards  were  a 
mockery  of  horsemen  ;  they  were  growing  pale  and 
fat,  and  when  they  received  her  on  the  quay  of 
Mavromati,  she  was  horrified  to  observe  that  they 
were  sleepy-eyed  and  unerect— a  regiment  of  putty 
soldiers.  She  herself,  who  could  still,  as  in  the 
days  when  Petros  came  a-courting,  watch  the  tide 
of  gold  ebbing  and  flowing  on  the  green  tables  for 
hour  after  hour  when  she  should  have  been  asleep, 
without  suffering  for  it  next  morning,  saw  that  if 
the  common  folk  sat  up  at  roulette  all  night,  their 
parade  on  the  following  day  lost  its  briskness.  But 
her  regret  passed ;  the  town  was  full  of  amusing 
people,  and  she  had  a  series  of  house-parties  with 
her  from  November  until  the  New  Year  fetes  were 
over.  She  was  well  entertained,  and  as  she  was 
one  of  those  to  whom  boredom  is  a  pain  more  ex- 
quisite than  earache,  she  found  that  so  long  as  it 
was  entirely  absent,  her  mind  was  distracted  from 
the  consideration  of  the  deteriorated  physique  of 
her  people. 

Leonard's  letters  also  were  full  of  consolation. 
They  were  so  crammed  with  excruciating  facts  about 
mosques  and  minarets  that  Sophia  was  wholly  in- 
capable of  reading  them,  and  put  the  interminable 
sheets  into  her  desk,  gratefully  feeling  that  her 
experiment  was  brimming  with  success.  His  tutor, 
she  was  informed,  had  fallen  ill  of  typhoid  at  Cairo, 
and  Leonard  was  purposing  to  spend  a  month  up 
the  Nile  while  he  was  recovering,  a  trip  which  he 


242  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

told  her  was  well  likely  to  repay  a  visit.  The 
pyramids  of  Sakkarah  which  he  had  just  seen  were 
magnificent  beyond  description.  As  she  knew,  the 
Great  Step  Pyramid  was  there,  a  magnificent  struc- 
ture of  the  Sixth  Dynasty,  while  closer  at  hand  were 
the  great  pyramids  of  Gizeh,  the  tombs  of  Cheops, 
Chephren,  and  Mycerinus,  or  Menkau,  as  he  was 
more  properly  called.  Archaeologists  were  disagreed 
as  to  the  date  of  the  Sphinx  ;  for  himself,  he  was 
inclined  to  side  with  Mariette  ,  .  .  and  Sophia 
murmured,  *  Dear  boy  !  '  and  read  no  further,  merely 
glancing  at  the  last  of  the  sixteen  sides  he  had 
written  her,  which  contained  an  account  of  a  usaptiu 
figure  he  had  just  purchased  from  a  dealer,  which  he 
had  every  reason  to  believe  was  genuine,  and  not 
imported  from  Manchester  for  the  ignorant  tourist. 
His  next  letter  gave  a  most  exhaustive  historical 
account  of  the  temple  of  Karnak,  and  a  description 
of  the  tombs  of  the  kings,  which  he  urged  his 
mother  to  see.  In  a  few  days  she  could  get  across 
to  Port  Said,  and  a  week  afterwards  they  would  be 
standing  together  lost  in  wonder  at  the  monuments 
of  the  Pharaohs.  It  was  a  liberal  education,  he 
said,  to  visit  Egypt  ;  already  in  a  few  weeks  he  had 
learned  more  than  his  three  years  at  Eton  had 
taught  him.  As  a  series,  indeed,  the  letters  really 
resembled  pages  of  a  guide-book,  so  conscientious 
were  they  and  so  unreadable.  The  next  letter,  after 
an  interval  of  some  six  weeks,  was  merely  dated 
s.s.  Amnion ;  but  it  described  the  holy  city  of 
Benares,  where  there  is  a  golden  statue  of  Buddha 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.  243 

twenty-five  feet  tall,  the  alligators  in  the  Hooghly, 
and  the  methods  of  the  manufacturing  of  filigree 
work.  This  was  all  as  it  should  be,  and  Sophia's 
belief  in  her  experiment  became  a  creed  with  her. 
It  was  no  longer  an  experiment ;  it  was  an  assured 
success. 

The  spring  passed  into  summer,  and  summer 
again  into  autumn,  and  still  Sophia  was  deluged 
with  floods  of  categorical  information.  Leonard 
had  been  away  a  year,  and  the  tutor,  having  success- 
fully battled  with  typhoid  in  Egypt,  had  unfortu- 
nately fallen  a  victim  to  yellow  fever  in  the  West 
Indies.  Leonard  duly  reported  this  to  his  mother, 
but  declined  altogether  to  have  another  tutor. 
While  the  first  lived  he  had  continually  been  tied 
in  one  place  by  his  ailments,  and  he  proposed  to  do 
the  rest  of  his  journeying  alone.  He  was  now  in 
Boston,  U.S.A.,  where  there  was  a  remarkably  fine 
statue  of  George  Washington  ;  his  mother  would 
doubtless  recollect  that  this  eminent  statesman  (one 
of  the  brightest  men  the  Western  continent  had  ever 
produced)  was  notably  truthful.  In  fact,  tTie  story 
of  his  childhood,  etc.  He  was  now  going  an  excur- 
sion among  some  Indian  tribes,  and  he  hoped  in  his 
next  to  give  some  account  of  wigwams,  Yosemite, 
and  squaws. 

Sophia  could  not  understand  it.  Was  the  boy 
going  to  grow  up  a  pedant  ?  She  almost  preferred 
that  he  should  be  a  gambler. 

The  Princess  left  Rhodope  that  year  in  November, 
twelve  months  after  Leonard's  departure.     Her  sot- 


244  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

disant  visits  to  her  relatives  were  unusually  pro- 
tracted, for  the  tables  constantly  backed  her  luck, 
and  it  was  already  May,  the  almond  blossoms  were 
over  and  the  House  was  sitting,  when  she  returned 
to  Amandos.  She  was  beginning  to  get  very  stout, 
but  she  found  consolation  for  this  in  the  advice  of 
her  doctor,  who  recommended  her  a  month  at  Carls- 
bad in  the  summer.  That  month  lengthened  itself 
to  six  weeks,  and  on  her  arrival  in  Rhodope  again 
in  the  autumn  her  neglect  of  her  duties  became 
more  edifying  than  ever.  For  one  reason  or  an- 
other the  visitors  to  the  capital  were  much  dimin- 
ished in  this  year ;  the  death  of  her  aunt,  the 
Princess  Olga,  had  thrown  the  Court  into  mourn- 
ing for  a  month,  and  time  hung  terribly  on  her 
hands. 

It  was  during  this  enforced  absence  from  the  club, 
in  obedience  to  etiquette,  but  meaningless  to  her — 
for  her  aunt  was  one  of  the  most  sour-tempered 
women  God  ever  made,  and  mourning  for  her  death 
was  of  a  farcical  nature — that  the  Princess,  in  an 
excess  of  ennui,  began  those  practices  which  have 
been  censured  so  severely,  and  which  even  the  in- 
dulgent historian  must  stigmatize  as  undignified. 
Night  after  night  she  would  steal  out  from  one  of 
the  private  doors  of  the  palace,  and,  disguised  as  well 
as  might  be  like  a  widow,  with  a  pair  of  spectacles, 
a  bombazine  jacket,  and  a  thick  veil,  make  her  way 
to  one  of  the  numerous  gaming-houses  which  held 
out  their  signs  in  every  street  in  Amandos.  For  fear 
she  should  be  recognised,  she  dared  not  go  to  her 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.         245 

own  club,  where  it  would  be  certain  she  would  meet 
someone  she  knew,  and  who  knew  her  well  enough 
to  pierce  her  somewhat  transparent  disguise  ;  and 
for  the  same  reason  she  would  not  go  to  any  of  the 
houses  frequented  by  the  upper  class  of  her  people. 
Instead,  she  would  skulk  along  unfrequented  thor- 
oughfares and  narrow  streets  until  she  came  to 
some  sorry  restaurant,  over  which  there  would  be 
a  low,  dingy  room,  ill  ventilated,  and  thick  with 
the  acrid  fumes  of  inferior  tobacco,  and  there  she 
would  play  perhaps  for  hours,  in  stakes  limited  to 
ten  or  twelve  francs.  In  this  she  would  do  violence 
to  her  better  nature,  for  often  the  roulette-boards 
were  as  pitiable  as  that  which  had  so  roused  her 
anger  against  Leonard,  thus  showing  that  they  were 
contraband,  and  not  supplied  by  the  Government 
monopoly  ;  but  gambling  had  become  a  necessity  to 
her,  and  she  would  have  played  with  any  wretch, 
however  depraved,  on  any  board,  however  infamous. 
The  pathos  of  the  situation  lay  in  the  fact  that  she 
was  constantly  recognised,  but  her  loyal  people,  sym- 
pathizing with  her  in  being  deprived  of  her  games 
at  the  club,  owing  to  this  meaningless  etiquette, 
never  gave  a  sign  that  they  knew  her.  Certainly, 
also,  there  was  a  curious  attraction  to  her  in  the 
very  squalor  of  the  surroundings.  To  be  elbowed 
by  hairy  sailors,  to  be  smothered  in  musk  by  the 
wives  of  smaller  tradesmen,  excited  her  by  its 
strange  incongruity.  Lombroso,  so  she  told  her- 
self, would  certainly  have  diagnosed  her  practices 
as  belonging  to  one  who  showed  the  early  stages  of 


246  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

egalo-megalomania,  or  some  such  mental  deforma- 
tion, but,  as  she  also  told  herself,  nothing  could 
matter  less  than  what  Lombroso  said. 

At  other  times  she  would  even  dine  at  the  res- 
taurants below,  with  a  secret  gusto  for  the  abomi- 
nable food,  and  the  sort  of  joy  a  miser  must  feel,  to 
know  that  in  the  palace  her  French  chef  was  in  the 
middle  of  his  inimitable  alchemy,  changing  for  her 
the  raw  material  of  his  craft  into  an  artist's  dream. 
The  daily  risk  of  detection  she  ran  at  the  hands  of 
her  own  servants  even  amused  her,  and  she  liked 
to  see  the  blank,  masklike  wonder  of  their  faces 
when  she  told  them  that  she  would  have  dinner  at 
a  quarter  to  eleven,  little  knowing  that  they  were 
perfectly  aware  what  she  was  going  to  do  in  the 
interval.  To  her,  gambling  had  become  as  impera- 
tive as  a  dipsomaniac's  cravings,  and  the  death  of 
her  sour  aunt  made  it  a  necessity  to  her  to  indulge 
her  passion,  as  she  thought,  secretly.  It  interested 
her  also  to  find  how  much  the  secrecy  and  squalor 
of  these  adventures  resembled  those  of  her  remote 
cousin  the  Empress  Catherine  of  Russia.  How 
strange  a  thing  is  heredity  ! 

But  the  month  of  mourning  passed,  and  she  re- 
sumed her  seat  in  the  club.  Letters  from  Leonard 
still  reached  her,  but  she  scarcely  read  them  ;  and 
though  she  loved  the  lad,  and  no  sight  would  have 
been  so  welcome  to  her  as  his  face,  yet  she  deter- 
mined to  keep  him  abroad  as  long  as  possible.  He 
had  been  away  two  years,  and  he  would  now  be  just 
twenty.     He  should  come  back  to  Amandos  to  cele- 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.    247 

brate  his  twenty-first  birthday,  but  if  she  had  her 
way,  not  a  day  before  that. 

Again  the  winter  passed,  again  the  seemingly  in- 
terminable tedium  of  business  was  suspended  on  the 
last  day  of  December  ;   again  she  thanked  her  Min- 
isters for  their  services  to  the  country  during  the 
past  year ;   and  as  soon  as  the  New  Year  festivities 
were  over,  she  was  off  on  the  new  Felatrune,  a  yacht 
she  had  built  with  her  winnings  of  the  past  twelve 
months,  for  Monte  Carlo.     There  her  presence  had 
become  so  regular  and  assiduous,  that  the  urbane 
manager   had   named   one   of   the   new   rooms   the 
Princess's  Salon.     She  had  a  beautiful  villa  on  the 
hills  above  the  town,  which  was  generally  full  of 
guests  ;    and  while  she  was  there  this  room  was 
reserved,  unless  she  sent  a  message  that  she  would 
not  play  that  day,  for  herself  and  her  friends,  but 
such  days  were  few.     It  was  built  at  an  angle  of 
the  Casino,  and  a  little  private  lawn  stretched  down 
in    front   of   it   to   a   terrace   overlooking   the   sea. 
Crocuses,  narcissi  and  daffodils  were  sown  all  over 
the  grass,  and  in  the  early  spring  it  used  to  look 
like  a  foreground  of  one  of  Fra  Angehco's  pictures. 
Inside  the  room  was  divinely  appointed,  but  less 
like  Fra  Angelico's  pictures.     It  was  walled  with 
crimson  satin,  and  had  a  moulded  gilt  arabesque 
along  the  top  ;  the  floor  was  of  parqueted  oak,  with 
thick  Persian  rugs ;  on  the  mantelpiece  was  a  bronze 
dore  clock  by  Vernier,  which  told  the  hours  un- 
ceasingly.     On  the   right   of   the  croupier's   place 
was  the   Empress's    chair    of    walnut  wood,   with 


248  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

little  Sevres  plaques  let  into  the  arms ;  on  the 
back  was  inlaid  her  monogram  underneath  her 
crown. 

The  party  with  her  was  often  enough  to  fill  the 
room,  for  her  house  was  usually  full  of  the  ortho- 
dox ;  but  when  there  was  a  place  or  so  vacant, 
the  Princess  would  often  stroll  round  the  public 
rooms,  and  if  she  saw  there  an  acquaintance  who 
played  well,  that  is,  high  and  with  the  calmness  of 
conviction,  she  would  invite  him  to  join  her  table. 
As  a  rule  her  party  would  meet  at  her  room  for  an 
hour  or  two  before  dinner,  adjourn  again  till  half- 
past  nine  or  so,  and  then  continue  the  game  till 
two  or  three  in  the  morning.  Sometimes,  when  the 
roulette  proved  more  than  usually  exciting,  and  luck 
adorably  capricious,  it  would  be  prolonged  to  a 
later  hour  ;  and  as  the  nights  got  shorter,  it  was  no 
rare  thing  for  them  to  see  morning  break  in  thin 
lines  of  red  on  the  eastern  horizon,  and  the  dim 
dark  change  to  an  ethereal  gray  before  they  left  the 
Casino  for  the  Princess's  villa. 

For  many  weeks  Sophia  had  had  no  word  of  any 
kind  from  Leonard,  but  as  his  last  letter  had  said 
that  he  was  going  to  shoot  bears  {Ursa  major)  in  the 
Rockies,  she  concluded,  with  all  the  enviable  calm 
of  a  mind  which  never  knew  anxiety,  that  where 
Ursa  major  is  plentiful,  there  also  postal  arrange- 
ments are  correspondingly  scarce.  Thus  his  con- 
tinued silence  was  scarcely  noticeable  to  her,  and, 
at  any  rate,  she  was  so  happily  constituted  that  no 
fear  that  bears  had  devoured  him  ever  occurred  to 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.    249 

her.     When  he  came  back  from  shooting  bears,  no 
doubt  he  would  write  to  her. 

The  month  of  April  this  year  had  been  peculiarly 
seasonable  ;  the  lucid  atmosphere  of  summer  had 
come,  but  not  its  heats  ;  the  freshness  of  spring 
remained,  but  its  armoury  of  squalls  was  spent,  and 
seldom  in  her  life  had  the  Princess  enjoyed  a  more 
delectable  score  of  days.  Her  Ministers  at  Rhodope, 
she  was  pleased  to  observe,  at  length  entirely  under- 
stood her,  and  the  completeness  with  which  they 
indulged  her  intolerance  of  State  affairs  was  worthy 
of  the  Regency  of  Petros.  She  was  still,  as  in  the 
days  of  her  girlhood,  a  fervent  lover  of  the  sea, 
and  no  morning  failed  to  see  her  scudding  up  and 
down  the  coast  in  her  little  cutter,  and  with  the  same 
regularity  an  hour  before  her  dejeuner  she  would  be 
put  ashore  opposite  her  little  tent  on  the  beach,  and 
have  a  long  swim  before  luncheon.  No  watering- 
place  bather  was  she  ;  her  bathing  was  no  affair  of  a 
ducking  of  the  head,  a  few  random  strokes,  and  a 
bubbling  cry.  With  a  boat  a  hundred  yards  behind 
her,  she  would  swim  out  not  less  than  half  a  mile 
from  shore,  rest  a  little,  floating  with  arms  out- 
stretched in  the  rocking  cradle  of  the  waves,  and 
then  head  back  for  the  shore.  This  exercise  and 
the  bracing  water  kept  her  young,  and  while  those 
only  half  her  age  would  find  but  a  rotten  world 
welcoming  them  to  their  lunch,  after  watching  the 
dawn  from  the  little  red  room,  hers  was  a  brisk 
step,  a  feeling  of  slight  well-earned  fatigue,  a  joyous 
elasticity  of  spirit,  and  the  appetite  of  a  youth. 


250  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

She  drank  wine  but  sparingly,  and  in  spite  of  her 
increasing  stoutness,  she  was  still  a  woman  to  whom 
the  eyes  of  men  were  drawn  as  steel  to  the  magnet, 
and  none  bore  her  years  with  half  so  good  a  grace 
as  she. 

But  the  early  days  of  May  brought  straight  the 
balance  of  imperfection  of  this  world  and  its  weather, 
A  stifling  sirocco  blew  day  after  day  out  of  the 
south,  bringing  with  it,  you  would  have  said,  all 
the  scorching  of  the  Libyan  Desert  and  all  the 
moisture  of  the  sea  it  passed  over.  For  five  days 
it  blew  without  intermission,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  fifth  the  heat  was  rendered  doubly  intolerable 
by  a  great  bank  of  ominous  clouds  which  spread 
eastwards  over  the  sky  at  right  angles  to  the  current 
of  the  wind.  These  were  fat  and  fleecy,  like  blankets, 
and  like  blanketed  fever  patients  were  those  that 
stifled  beneath  them.  Princess  Sophia  alone  was  a 
shining  exception  to  the  rest  of  the  limp  world  ; 
she  had  much  enjoyed  her  buffeting  with  a  gray 
and  angry  sea,  and  she  received  her  guests  who 
collected  in  the  drawing-room  before  lunch  with 
all  her  vivacious  cordiality.  Princess  Aline  of 
Luxemburg  was  one  of  these,  Prince  Victor  of 
Strelitz  another ;  the  rest  were  mainly  English, 
and  all  were  gamblers  of  the  most  honourable 
order. 

'  You  call  it  a  terrible  day.  Aline  !  '  cried  the 
Princess.  '  My  dear,  what  do  you  know  of  the 
day  ?  It  may  be  delightful,  for  all  you  know.  If 
I  had  stayed  in  my  bedroom  as  long  as  you,  I 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.  251 

should  be  dead  by  now.  You  slept,  or  tried  to 
sleep,  till  eleven.' 

'  How  do  you  know  that  ?  '  asked  Princess  Aline. 

'  How  ?  Because  I  was  in  the  cutter — a  very 
rough  sea  this  morning — and  it  so  happened  that 
my  opera-glass  was  on  the  house.  I  saw  a  blind  go 
up  ;  I  knew  it  was  the  blind  of  your  room.  I  looked 
at  the  time,  and  it  was  eleven.  Oh,  why  was  I  not 
a  detective  ?  What  a  series  of  simple  and  acute 
deductions  !  ' 

'  Do  you  consider  it  a  pleasant  day,  Sophia  ?  ' 
asked  her  cousin.  Prince  Victor, 

'  Dear  Victor,  to  me  every  day  is  a  pleasant  day, 
except  in  Rhodope.  How  is  it  possible  to  be  more 
happy  than  I  am  ?  I  have  an  admirable  digestion. 
Yes  ;  is  lunch  ready  ?  Let  us  come  in.  I  have  luck 
at  the  cards.  I  slept  for  six  hours  like  a  tired  child, 
as  Shelley  says.  I  have  swum  a  mile.  I  had  no 
letters  to  worry  me  this  morning,  and  my  nation  has 
no  history,  Happy  is  the  Princess  whose  nation 
has  no  history  !  ' 

'  The  club,  is  not  that  history  ?  '  asked  Lady 
Blanche,  who  was  of  the  party. 

'  A  chapter  only — a  paragraph  only.  It  cannot 
make  history  alone,  and  positively  nothing  else  has 
happened  in  Rhodope  for  thirty  years.' 

'  Something  nearly  happened  once,'  remarked 
Blanche. 

'  Yes,  dear  Blanche,  and  you  proved  yourself  my 
best  and  only  friend,  and  my  worst  enemy.  Oh,  I 
am  not  ungrateful ;  you  know  that.     But  think  :   if 


252  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

only  I  had  been  deposed  eighteen  years  ago,  what 
garnered  happiness  had  been  mine  by  now  !  ' 

The  Princess's  admirable  English,  as  usual,  pro- 
voked a  laugh,  but  she  scarcely  paused  to  join  in  it 
herself. 

'  Only  think  :  for  eighteen  years  I  should  have 
been  a  free  woman — one  of  those  happy  individuals 
whose  luncheon-parties  and  whose  tea-parties  are 
not  recorded  in  the  daily  papers  !  Great  Heaven  ! 
to  be  recorded  in  the  daily  papers  makes  the  happi- 
ness of  some  women.  Yes,  Blanche,  but  for  you  I 
should  have  been  one  who  does  as  she  chooses. 
What  nonsense  is  that  which  we  are  told  of  free-will ! 
For  my  class  there  is  no  such  thing.  We  do  not 
wish  or  want  or  desire  to  go  to  lunch  with  the 
Mayor,  yet  we  go.  On  the  other  hand.  Mayors  are 
inevitable.  What  is  supposed  to  happen  when  free- 
will is  opposed  to  that  which  is  inevitable  ?  Does 
no  one  know  ?    How  ignorant !  ' 

*  Be  truthful,  Sophia,'  said  Princess  Aline,  '  and 
tell  me  when  last  you  went  to  lunch  with  an  in- 
evitable Mayor.' 

'  You  are  getting  personal.  Aline,'  said  the  other. 

'  We  will  draw  our  conclusions,  then.' 

'  Dear  Aline,  draw  what  you  like  ;  the  principle 
is  the  same.  If  I  have  not  been  to  lunch  with  a 
Mayor  for  as  long  as  you  choose  to  suppose,  I  have 
vanquished  the  inevitable.  If  any  of  you  had  been 
in  my  place,  you  would  have  lunched  with  the  Mayor 
once  every  week-day,  and  twice  on  Sundays.' 

'  A  day  of  rest,'  observed  Blanche. 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.         253 

*  Yes,  you  would  have  slept  afterwards,'  said 
Sophia.  '  Ouf  !  but  it  is  hot.  The  house  is  abomin- 
able on  a  day  like  this.' 

After  lunch  they  broke  up  again,  Princess  Aline 
announcing  without  shame  that  she  intended  to  lie 
on  her  bed  and  sleep,  if  possible,  till  tea.  Prince 
Victor,  less  honest,  took  a  large  chair  in  the  veranda, 
and  pretended  to  read  ;  but  before  long  the  book 
fell  heavily  to  the  ground,  and  he  snored  without 
restraint.  The  others,  with  the  exception  of  Sophia 
and  Blanche,  said  they  were  going  to  write  letters, 
and  the  Princess  laughed  at  them. 

'  Aline  is  the  only  honest  one  of  you  all,'  she  said, 
'  and  Blanche  and  I  are  the  only  people  awake. 
Blanche,  I  ordered  the  horses  for  half-past  two  ;  we 
will  leave  these  shameless  people.  The  view  from 
the  hills  under  this  great  pall  of  cloud  will  be  mag- 
nificent. See  how  near  and  distinct  everything  has 
become  !  The  wind  has  gone  down  ;  we  shall  have 
thunder.     I  always  win  when  it  thunders.' 

As  Sophia  had  said,  the  wind  had  ceased,  and  the 
air  hung  as  heavy  as  a  pall  over  the  mountain-side. 
The  noise  of  the  sea  filled  the  air,  but  the  waves  no 
longer  broke  ;  a  great  thunderous,  oily  swell  swept 
up  to  the  shore,  and  poured  its  volumes  of  water 
ponderously  on  the  beach.  Far  out  to  sea  an  ocean- 
going steamer  was  ploughing  its  way  eastwards,  and 
as  the  swell  caught  and  lifted  her,  they  could  see 
now  the  whole  deck  slanted  perilously  towards  them, 
and  now  she  would  be  but  a  black  line  in  the  trough 
of  the  sea.     Overhead  a  mottled  floor  of  cloud  ob- 


254  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

scured  the  sky,  so  lowering  that  it  seemed  almost 
within  a  stone's-throw.  The  olive-trees  on  the  slope 
were  unruffled  by  wind,  and  the  very  leaves  of  the 
trees  hung  drooping  as  if  sleeping  uneasily.  The 
horses  were  as  if  tired  by  a  long  gallop,  though  they 
had  not  been  out  of  the  stables  except  for  exercising, 
and  went  heavily.  Their  riders  alone  seemed  un- 
affected by  the  weather,  and  their  talk  turned,  as 
was  not  uncommon,  on  the  tables. 

'  There  seem  to  be  rather  fewer  people  here  than 
usual,'  said  the  Princess.  '  A  few  years  ago  May 
was  always  crowded.' 

'  And  now  Amandos  is  crowded,'  remarked  Lady 
Blanche. 

'  Yes.  How  delightful  not  to  be  at  Amandos ! 
Blanche,  I  have  sometimes  wondered — usually  on 
Sunday  evenings— whether  it  was  really  a  good 
thing  for  Rhodope  when  I  started  the  club.  Of 
course,  the  wealth  of  the  country  is  enormously 
increased,  but  after  all,  has  one  not  sacrificed  some- 
thing else — the  spirit  of  the  land,  the  spirit  of  the 
mountains,  and  the  great  out-of-doors  ?  ' 

'  If  you  think  so,  restore  it.' 

'  I  cannot,'  said  Sophia — '  I  simply  cannot ; 
Rhodope  without  the  tables  would  be  impossible  to 
me.  Oh,  Blanche,  why  did  you  save  my  throne  ? 
I  almost  wish  I  had  received  a  polite  note  from 
Petros  saying  that  the  Assembly  had  dethroned  my 
House.  Yet  it  was  a  great  stroke,  and  I  have 
seldom  been  so  excited  as  I  was  during  that  sledge- 
drive  up  from  Mavromati,  when  we  did  not  know 


THE  PLAGUE-SPOT  SPREADS.  255 

if  we  should  be  in  time.  Dear  me,  how  splendidly 
punctual  I  was  on  that  day  1  What  a  thunder- 
storm we  had  in  Corfu  when  I  set  out !  The  day 
was  not  unlike  this  afternoon.' 

Blanche  laughed. 

'  Abdicate,  then,'  she  said.  '  Send  for  Prince 
Leonard  to  seat  himself  on  your  throne.' 

'  Ah,  if  he  would  only  come  !  But  I  think  he 
would  be  no  better  than  I.  He  was  expelled  from 
Eton,  or  rather  I  withdrew  him,  as  you  know,  for 
playing  roulette.' 

'  Do  you  think  his  travels  may  not  have  cured 
him  ?  '  asked  Lady  Blanche. 

'  How  can  one  cure  a  passion  ?  It  is  incurable. 
You  may  repress  it,  but  it  is  always  there.  True,  I 
hope  it  is  so  much  repressed  that  it  will  not  break 
out.  Perhaps  you  may  even  call  it  cured.  But 
what  self-respecting  young  man  would  banish  him- 
self to  Rhodope,  especially  one  who  has  the  instinct 
for  play,  if  there  was  no  club  ?  ' 

'  When  will  he  be  back  ?  '  asked  Blanche. 

'  I  don't  know.  I  have  not  heard  from  him  for 
weeks.  He  was  to  shoot  bears,  I  think  he  said.  It 
seems  hardly  worth  while  to  go  to  America  to  do 
that.  Look  how  magnificent  the  view  is  !  It  was 
worth  our  while  to  come.' 

They  got  back  about  five  o'clock,  and  after  tea 
drove  down  to  the  Casino.  The  rooms  were  very 
empty,  and  a  restless,  unsettled  atmosphere  was 
abroad.  Over  the  sea  from  time  to  time  came  blinks 
of  remote  lightning,  and  rumblings  of  thunder,  like 


256  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  sound  of  a  gong  very  far  away.  Even  roulette 
somehow  seemed  monotonous,  in  such  poor  spirits 
were  the  Princess's  guests,  and  it  was  a  reUef  to  her 
when  dinner-time  came,  for  there  was  no  such  tonic 
to  the  mind  as  dinner. 

As  they  dined,  the  storm  moved  nearer,  and  while 
they  drank  their  coffee  on  the  terrace,  they  watched 
a  continuous  play  of  violet-coloured  lightning  south- 
wards over  the  sea,  and  the  noise  of  the  thunder 
began  to  overscore  the  hoarse  voice  of  the  swell  on 
the  beach  below.  A  few  drops  of  rain,  warm  and 
large,  splashed  down  on  the  terrace  Uke  sudden 
frogs,  and  the  tension  of  the  atmosphere  grew  un- 
bearable.    Even  Sophia  felt  it. 

'  Something  is  going  to  happen,'  she  cried,  as  they 
entered  the  Casino  doors — '  something  is  going  to 
happen  fit  for  the  lightning  to  look  at  and  the 
thunder  to  listen  to.  I  am  excited  !  I  am  deUght- 
fully  excited  !  ' 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

BANG  ! 

The  world  seemed  to  have  stopped  at  home  that 
night,  and  in  the  large  room — a  thing  Sophia  had 
never  known  before — there  was  no  one  playing. 
The  croupiers  were  all  at  their  posts,  some  of  them 
idly  spinning  the  wheels,  or  dealing  right  and  left 
for  imaginary  trente  et  quarante  ;  but  the  visitors, 
perhaps  only  twenty  in  all,  were  lounging  by  the 
open  windows,  silently  watching  the  gathering  of 
the  storm.  Due  south,  and  far  over  the  sea,  a 
terrific  thunderstorm  was  going  on ;  to  the  west,  a 
separate  and  distinct  display  winked  and  grumbled. 
Both  storms  were  certainly  moving  nearer  ;  it  was 
as  if  the  elements  were  banded  together  for  the 
destruction  of  Monte  Carlo,  and  the  whole  world 
seemed  to  be  waiting,  finger  on  lip,  for  an  imminent 
judgment.  The  air  was  windless,  but  every  few 
minutes  a  sudden  gust  swept  ratthng  and  hissing 
across  the  garden,  some  outlying  feeler,  cast  down 
like  a  grappling-iron  from  a  balloon,  of  the  fearful 
tumult  that  was  raging  fathoms  overhead.  In  such 
a  way  seaweed  and  ooze  feel  the  suck  of  a  swell 

9 


258  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

above,  stir  and  wave  madly  through  the  translucent 
water,  and  are  still  again. 

Close  to  the  window  near  where  they  entered  the 
large  room  a  very  tall  figure  of  a  man  lounged 
against  the  wall,  his  face  averted.  Over  it — no 
uncommon  sight — Was  tied  a  black  domino,  for  the 
more  finished  gamblers  of  that  day — gamblers,  that 
is,  of  the  first  water,  who  cultivated  style — often 
concealed  their  faces  in  this  way,  for  fear  that  some 
ungovernable  seizure  of  the  muscles  might  declare 
their  emotion.  Princess  Sophia  had  often  talked 
this  curious  custom  over  with  Blanche. 

'  It  is  a  ridiculous  invention,'  she  said,  '  for  the 
involuntary  and  ungovernable  spasms  of  emotion  are 
betrayed,  not  by  the  face,  but  by  the  hands.  I,  as 
you  know,  have  had  some  experience  of  the  table, 
and  though  no  one— this  sounds  hardly  modest,  but 
it  is  true — can  conceal  their  excitement  better  than 
I,  I  cannot  always  check  little  sudden  movements 
of  the  fingers.  The  muscles  of  my  face  I  have  in 
perfect  control.  There  is  no  difficulty.  It  is  a 
mask ;  but  if  you  watch  my  third  and  fourth 
fingers,  you  will  see  them,  if  I  am  more  than  usually 
interested  in  the  game,  make  little  movements  which 
I  simply  cannot  control.  It  is  hardly  a  move- 
ment, it  is  more  a  vibration  ;  and  to  conceal  this, 
as  you  have  noticed,  I  sometimes  wear  dark  gloves 
at  the  tables.' 

They  passed  on  into  their  private  room,  where 
Pierre — he  always  left  Rhodope  with  the  Princess — 
was  awaiting  them.     Even  he  seemed  touched  by 


BANG !  259 

the  weather,  and  his  bow  lacked  briskness,  and  his 
moustache  looked  limp. 

*  Pierre,  Pierre,  this  will  never  do  !  '  cried  Sophia. 
'  We  are  all  hke  old  rags  in  this  weather,  and  we 
need  more  players.  Let  us  have  all  the  windows 
open  ;  we  shall  soon  have  to  shut  them.  Yet  in  the 
other  room — no,  no  one  is  playing.  Whom  can  we 
get  ?     Is  not  the  lightning  amazing  !  ' 

*  There  are  some  good  players  there,  your  Royal 
Highness,  though  no  one  is  playing  yet,'  said  Pierre 
— '  a  tall  man,  for  instance,  in  a  black  domino.' 

'  Yes,  I  saw  him,'  said  the  Princess.  '  He  even 
bowed  to  me  as  I  came  in,  which  is  impertinent  of  a 
stranger.' 

'  He  bowed  to  the  Queen  of  Monte  Carlo,  madam,' 
said  Pierre,  brisking  up  a  little,  for  Sophia  always 
stimulated  him,  '  not  to  the  Princess  of  Rhodope.' 

The  Princess  laughed. 

'  But  he  wears  a  domino,'  she  said ;  *  he  must  be 
a  bad  gambler  if  he  cannot  control  his  face.' 

'  Watch  his  hands,  madam,'  returned  Pierre ; 
*  they  are  as  if  of  ice.' 

'  Then,  why  does  he  wear  a  domino  ?  ' 

*  Perhaps  to  conceal  some  deformity,  poor  gentle- 
man !  '  said  Pierre,  '  or  perhaps  he  has  the  dance  of 
St.  Vitus.  Your  Royal  Highness  will  find  he  plays 
well.' 

'  Ask  him  to  come  in,  then,'  she  said,  *  and  ask 
three  others  ;  we  are  short  to-night.' 

Pierre  hurried  into  the  other  room  to  do  her 
bidding,  and  a  moment  afterwards  returned  with 


26o  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

the  desired  number.  It  was  considered  a  sort  of 
brevet  rank  among  card-players  to  join  the  Prin- 
cess's table,  and  her  requests  were  always  eagerly 
obeyed.  Last  of  the  four  came  the  Black  Domino, 
and  as  the  Princess  bowed  to  him,  '  Your  Royal 
Highness  will  be  so  kind  as  to  excuse  my  domino,' 
he  said  ;  '  it  is  a  practice  of  mine  to  wear  it.' 

*  And  gloves  ?  '  asked  the  Princess,  with  interest. 

*  No,  madam  ;  I  have  my  hands  under  control,' 
he  replied. 

'  That  is  odd,'  said  she.  '  My  face  I  have  under 
control,  you  shall  see,  but  occasionally  I  have  to 
wear  gloves.' 

Princess  Aline  was  not  gifted  by  nature  with  the 
best  of  temper,  and  for  the  first  hour  she  had  cer- 
tainly the  worst  of  luck.  Eight  times  she  betted 
limit  stakes  on  the  second  half-dozen — no  mean 
form  of  play — and  seven  times  she  lost.  The  limit 
was  one  hundred  napoleons,  and  the  seven  rolls  were 
expensive.  At  the  end  of  the  seventh  she  lost  her 
temper  as  well  as  her  stake,  and  in  a  spasm  of  irony 
quite  ineffectual  against  inanimate  objects  she  laid 
two  sous  with  much  asperity  on  the  same  half-dozen, 
although  the  lowest  stake  was  understood  to  be  a 
napoleon  ;  but  her  bet  was  addressed,  not  to  the 
company,  but  to  the  offending  marble.  This  time, 
of  course,  she  won,  and  in  a  fit  of  rage  she  hurled 
the  innocuous  penny-piece  which  Pierre  had  hastily 
fished  out  of  his  pocket  on  to  the  floor. 

The  Black  Domino,  who  Was  seated  next  her, 
pushed  back  his  chair,  and  picked  it  up  for  her. 


BANG !  261 

*  I  think  this  slipped  from  the  hand  of  your  Serene 
Highness,'  he  said  gravely,  and  with  such  suavity 
and  seriousness  of  tone  that  none  thought  to  laugh. 

The  Princess  meantime,  as  she  so  often  was 
accustomed  to  do  when  beginning  a  night's  play, 
trifled  and  coquetted  with  Luck,  to  see  in  what 
mood  the  goddess  was,  as  some  gourmet  who  is 
ordering  his  dinner  will  sit  over  the  choice  of  dishes 
with  an  olive  or  a  glass  of  bitters,  testing  the  quality 
and  leanings  of  his  appetite.  She  bet  a  napoleon  or 
two  on  a  single  number  once  or  twice,  and  lost ;  she 
bet  on  a  few  half-dozens,  and  lost  also  ;  she  even 
bet  occasionally  on  the  colour,  but  Luck  seemed  to 
have  turned  its  back  on  her.  These  insignificant 
triflings  gave  her  time  to  observe  the  Black  Domino, 
and  before  long  her  candour  told  her  that  Luck  had 
been  right  to  leave  her.  If  she  was,  as  Pierre  said, 
the  Queen  of  Monte  Carlo,  here  indeed  was  the 
King.  The  domino,  of  course,  concealed  his  face  ; 
but,  even  as  Pierre  had  said,  his  hands  might  have 
been  of  ice.  He  seemed  to  stake  nothing  lower 
than  the  limit,  and  he  never  staked  on  more  than  a 
half-dozen.  Once,  when  he  had  bet  on  a  single 
number,  she  noticed  he  had  just  lit  a  match  for  his 
cigarette,  and  his  hand  was  half  raised,  the  elbow  off 
the  table,  when  the  marble,  as  sometimes  happens, 
after  some  few  wild  dashes  backwards  and  forwards, 
began  to  slow  down  very  suddenly.  Watching  it, 
he  forgot  to  light  his  cigarette,  and  though  his  arm 
Was  unsupported,  she  saw  his  white  fingers  cut  like 
a  cameo  across  his  black  coat,  and  the  edge  never 


262  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

wavered.  She  grew  so  interested  in  watching  him 
that  more  than  once  she  forgot  to  stake  on  a  roll, 
to  the  extreme  amazement  of  all  present,  including 
herself. 

After  an  hour  or  two  Pierre  went  to  get  his  supper, 
and  in  the  momentary  pause  before  the  new  croupier 
took  his  place  she  leaned  forward  across  the  table. 

'  Let  me  have  the  honour  of  complimenting  you 
on  your  play,'  she  said  to  the  Black  Domino  ;  '  it  is 
perfection,  and  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  play.' 

The  man  bowed. 

*  Praise  from  the  Princess  Sophia  is  praise  indeed,' 
he  said.  '  You  see,  your  Royal  Highness,  I  make  it 
a  rule  never  to  get  up  a  loser  ;  that  gives  one  a  certain 
calmness.     One  only  has  to  play  long  enough.' 

She  laughed. 

'  A  good  rule,'  she  said.  '  Your  methods  are  the 
same  as  my  own.  It  will  come  to  a  duel  between 
us.' 

'  That  shall  be  as  your  Royal  Highness  pleases,' 
he  said. 

Prince  Victor  was  of  that  imbecile  type  of  gambler 
which  is  usually  known  as  the  prudent  ;  in  other 
words,  after  having  lost  a  specified  sum,  he  closed 
his  performances  for  the  evening.  This  consummation 
he  usually  attained  after  about  three  hours'  hesitat- 
ing and  inglorious  adventure  ;  but  this  evening  his 
rate  of  progress  was  somewhat  more  advanced,  and 
he  rose  from  the  table  shortly  before  midnight. 
On  the  stroke  of  the  clock,  without  warning,  the  two 
battalions  of  storm  burst  overhead  ;  a  wicked  flicker 


BANG !  263 

of  lightning  zigzagged  across  the  darkness  close  out- 
side the  room  where  they  were  playing,  and  simul- 
taneously, it  seemed,  a  crack  of  thunder  so  appalling 
■burst  above  them  that  even  the  Princess,  who  sel- 
dom showed  emotion,  half  rose  from  her  seat  with 
a  little  cry  of  fright.  Princess  Aline  buried  her  face 
in  her  hands  ;  Pierre,  who  had  returned  from  his 
supper,  cried  '  Mon  Dieu  !  '  in  a  trembling  voice 
and  crossed  himself  ;  the  Black  Domino  alone  re- 
mained perfectly  unmoved. 

*  Your  Royal  Highness  should  recollect,'  he  said 
to  Sophia,  '  that  when  one  has  heard  the  thunder  it 
is  proof-positive  that  one  has  not  been  struck  by  the 
lightning.  I  am  quite  sure  we  all  heard  the  thunder. 
Personally,  I  am  deafened  ;  my  ears  sing.  I  see  no 
one  has  staked  on  this  roll.' 

Shortly  after  one  Princess  Aline  got  up  rather 
hastily  from  the  table.  She  said  something  in  a 
loud,  angry  tone  ;  but  her  words,  luckily  perhaps, 
were  drowned  by  a  prodigious  explosion  overhead. 
Outside  the  rain  was  falling  like  a  shower  of  lead, 
and  now  and  then  a  lightning  flash  crossing  the 
black  square  of  the  windows  would  turn  the  water 
into  a  deluge  of  prismatic  colour.  Already  the  air 
was  cooler,  but  the  chariots  of  God  still  drove  back- 
wards and  forwards  over  their  very  heads.  As 
Aline  left  the  table,  the  Black  Domino  asked  for  a 
whisky-and-soda,  and  Princess  Sophia  put  on  her 
gloves  ;  for  her  hands  trembled  perceptibly,  and  her 
little  finger  made  strange  twitching  movements. 
The  Black  Domino  must  already  have  made  a  for- 


264  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

tune,  and  Princess  Sophia  thought  with  dismay 
that  her  Civil  list  would  not  be  paid  till  September, 
and  she  was  not  very  good  at  economizing. 

On  the  retirement  of  Aline  and  Victor,  the  Prin- 
cess had  sent  out  for  two  others  to  take  their  places  ; 
but  when  at  three  o'clock  Blanche  also  rose,  she 
sent  in  vain  for  another.  Play  had  ceased  in  the 
large  room,  and  there  was  positively  no  one  there. 
Half  an  hour  afterwards  two  others  got  up,  and  the 
Princess,  looking  round  the  table,  saw  that  weariness 
sat  on  all  faces. 

She  rose  at  once. 

'  Do  not  let  me  detain  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
if  any  of  you  wish  to  go,'  she  said.  '  I  am  in- 
finitely obliged  to  you  for  your  charming  company. 
The  storm,  I  think,  is  passing  over  ;  you  can  get 
to  your  hotels  without  a  drenching.  Good-night — I 
wish  you  all  a  very  good-night.' 

A  sigh  of  relief  went  round  the  room — for  it  was 
not  etiquette  to  leave  the  Princess's  table,  except  for 
her  intimates,  till  she  herself  suggested  it — and  all 
rose.     The  Black  Domino,  however,  lingered. 

'  Am  I  to  understand  that  your  Royal  Highness 
is  willing  to  go  on  playing  with  any  who  wish  to 
remain  ?  '  he  asked. 

Sophia  flushed  with  delight. 

'  Mon  cher  inconnu,'  she  cried,  '  you  are  inimit- 
able !  But  what  game  shall  we  play  ?  It  will  have 
to  be  a  game  for  two.  I  will  cut  you  through  fifty 
packs.' 

'  I  would  as  soon  play  old  maid,  begging  your 


BANG !  265 

Royal    Highness's    pardon,'    observed    the    Black 
Domino  with  some  heat. 

'  Bezique  ?  '  suggested  Sophia. 

'  Surely  that  is  more  a  game  for  Ash  Wednesdays, 
your  Royal  Highness,'  said  he. 

'  Suggest,  then,'  she  said ;  '  only  I  will  not  play 
trente  et  quarante.  No  doubt  I  am  unreasonable, 
but  it  bores  me  ;  and  I  entirely  refuse  to  be  bored. 
After  all,  roulette  is  the  only  game  worth  playing ; 
but  we  can't  play  roulette  with  two.' 

'  I  think  it  might  be  managed,'  said  the  Black 
Domino,  '  if  the  bank  will  stand  aside  and  let  us 
fight  it  out.' 

'  How  do  you  propose  to  manage  it  ?  '  she  asked. 

'  In  this  way.  One  of  us — say  whichever  of  us 
won  the  last  roll — stakes  on  a  number,  or  on  six 
numbers,  or  a  dozen,  or  on  the  colour.  The  other 
then  stakes,  but  may  not  stake  on  more  numbers 
than  the  first  has  staked  on.  Thus,  if  your  Royal 
Highness  stakes  on  a  dozen,  I  may  stake  on  a  dozen 
or  anything  less  than  a  dozen.  In  the  same  way,  if 
I,  staking  first,  back  colour  merely,  your  Royal 
Highness  may  stake  on  colour,  on  the  dozen,  on 
anything  down  to  one  number.  If  I,  again,  stake  on 
one  number,  your  Royal  Highness  must  stake  on 
one.  Thus,  if  you  stake  on  one  number  to  my  dozen 
and  win,  I  pay  you  twelve  times  your  stake.  If 
we  both  stake  on  a  dozen  and  you  win,  I  pay  you 
your  stake  only.  It  will  not  be  roulette,  but  it 
should  not  be  tedious.' 

Sophia  turned  to  Pierre. 


266  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

'  Will  it  make  a  game  ?  '  she  asked. 

Pierre  wiped  an  excited  dew  from  his  forehead. 

'  I  would  my  father  were  alive  to  see  it  1 '  he 
exclaimed  piously.  '  Madam,  it  is  the  greatest 
gamble  conceivable !  Heaven  will  not  be  found  to 
hold  such  a  gamble.' 

'  That  is  probably  the  case,'  said  Sophia  dryly. 

They  sat  down  again,  and  at  the  Princess's  request 
the  Black  Domino  spun  a  coin. 

'  Heads  !  '  she  cried  ;  and  it  was  heads. 

Sophia  intended  to  begin  gently  till  she  saw  the 
run  of  the  game,  and  staked  five  napoleons  on  red. 

'  Black,'  replied  her  opponent,  and  lost. 

Sophia  hesitated. 

*  Red,'  she  said — '  limit.  I  think  this  will  make 
an  amusing  game.' 

*  On  number  thirteen,  limit,'  replied  this  remark- 
able young  man. 

Sophia  held  her  breath.  Hardened  gambler  as 
she  was,  she  always  let  thirteen  severely  alone,  and 
she  heard  her  pulse  hammering  in  her  throat  as  the 
ball  clicked  and  flew  off  at  tangents.  Long  before  it 
stopped  she  had  a  presentiment  what  would  happen, 
and  when  it  paused,  ran  on  again,  slowed  and  died, 
dropping  into  thirteen,  she  was  not  surprised. 

'  I  congratulate  you,'  she  said  with  entire  truth, 
and  handed  him  sixteen  times  the  limit  stake. 

For  the  next  half-hour  after  this  the  play  was  only 
moderately  sensational.  They  staked  on  dozens 
and  half-dozens,  occasionally  even  on  colour,  and 
the  Black  Domino  continued  to  make  a  handsome 


BANG !  267 

income.  About  four  o'clock  he  yawned  slightly, 
and  it  being  Sophia's  turn  to  stake,  when  she 
backed  a  colour,  he  wearily  laid  down  the  limit 
stake  of  a  hundred  napoleons  on  number  twenty. 

'  My  age,'  he  said. 

'  Indeed  !  '  remarked  Sophia.  '  You  look  older  ;  ' 
and  her  voice  vibrated  with  suppressed  emotion. 

The  ball  slovved  down.  Again  he  had  won  on  a 
single  number  to  her  sixteen. 

At  this  she  grew  a  little  reckless  ;  but  do  what 
she  would,  her  own  recklessness  seemed  to  fade 
into  a  pallid  system  by  his  ;  the  fire  of  her  play 
dwindled  like  a  candle  in  sunlight  before  his  ex- 
traordinary hazards,  and  yet  his  hands  might  have 
been  hands  of  ice. 

Only  once  again  before  the  pale  face  of  the  dawn 
began  to  peer  in  at  the  eastern  window  did  they 
pause,  and  that  when  Pierre  rose  to  walk  up  and 
down  the  room,  for  he  was  cramped  with  sitting. 
Then  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  her  life  the 
Princess  showed  herself  inquisitive, 

'  I  should  be  honoured  by  knowing  your  name,' 
she  said. 

'  With  your  Royal  Highness's  permission  I  will 
keep  it  to  myself  till  we  have  finished,'  he  replied. 
'  But  I  have  on  my  side  a  question.  Shall  we,  with 
your  Royal  Highness's  permission,  place  no  limit 
on  the  stakes  ?  These  hundred  napoleon  stakes  are 
getting  a  little  tedious,  are  they  not  ?  We  are  used 
to  them,  and  when  one  gets  used  to  a  thing  it  is 
better  to  change  it.' 


268  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

Now,  most  men  when  they  have  won  a  fortune 
would  absolutely  refuse  to  raise  the  stakes,  and  the 
Princess  raised  her  hands  in  amazement.  Never 
had  her  wildest  imaginations  pictured  a  gambler  so 
magnificent  as  this.  What  a  king,  she  thought,  he 
would  have  made  !  He  was  royal — a  man  out  of 
sight  of  the  run  of  humanity,  as  kings  should  be. 
None  but  she  could  so  well  have  appreciated  his 
extraordinary  self-control,  none  could  have  so  esti- 
mated his  scale. 

'  My  limit  shall  only  be  that  of  which  I  am 
possessed,'  she  said.  '  I  have  still  six  thousand 
napoleons  to  lose,  but  I  am  afraid  I  have  no 
more.' 

The  black  Domino  separated  from  his  pile  of 
winnings  sixty  rouleaux  of  a  hundred  napoleons. 

'  The  night  is  already  gone,'  he  said.  '  I  will 
stake  on  red.' 

'  And  I  on  black,'  said  the  Princess  ;  and  her  little 
finger  twitched  like  the  indicator  of  a  telegraph. 

The  ball  slowed  down,  and  she  rose. 

'  I  would  play  with  you  till  the  Day  of  Judgment,' 
she  said,  '  but  positively  I  have  not  a  penny  till  my 
Civil  List  is  paid  in  September.' 

*  Your  Royal  Highness  has  Rhodope,'  said  he. 
'  True  ;  and  what  shall  be  your  stake  ?  ' 

'  The  revenues  of  Rhodope,  paid  year  by  year  to 
you  and  your  heirs  for  ever.' 

'  They  are  large,  and  "  for  ever  "  is  a  long  time.' 

*  And  I  am  rich.  Also  I  have  luck.  I  will  stake 
on  the  first  half  of  the  board.' 


BANG !  269 

'  And  I  on  the  second,'  said  the  Princess  ;  but  her 
voice  was  a  whisper. 

Pierre's  hand  so  trembled  that  he  could  scarce 
set  the  wheel  in  motion,  and  the  Princess's  foot  beat 
like  an  electric  dynamo  on  the  thick  Persian  rug 
underneath  the  table.  The  spin  was  a  long  one, 
but  at  last  the  ball  began  to  slow  down  ;  it  crept 
through  one  to  sixteen,  crawled  through  sixteen  to 
thirty-two,  wavered  over  zero,  and  settled  into 
number  one.     They  rose  together. 

*  A  pleasant  jest,'  said  the  Princess  rather  tremu- 
lously, '  to  end  a  memorable  evening.' 

'  I  never  jest  when  I  am  gambling,'  said  the 
Black  Domino.  Then  he  drew  himself  up  and 
removed  his  domino.  '  Is  it  possible  you  do  not 
recognise  me,  mother  ?  '  he  said. 

The  Princess's  hands  made  a  sudden  quick  move- 
ment together. 

'  Oh,  Leonard  !  Leonard  !  '  she  cried  ;  'when  you 
ought  to  have  been  among  the  wigwams !  How 
tiresome  of  you  !  ' 

'  Even  so,  but  I  preferred,  like  you,  to  be  at  Monte 
Carlo.  I  have  been  here  two  months,  and  I  have 
played  every  day  since  I  saw  you  last.  The  rest  of 
my  time  was  occupied.in  copying  pages  out  of  guide- 
books.' 

Sophia  could  not  restrain  herself.  She  threw  her 
arms  round  his  neck  and  embraced  him,  kissing  him 
on  both  cheeks. 

'  But  you  are  magnificent  !  '  she  cried.  '  I  never 
thought  the  world  contained  so  splendid  a  man  ! 


270  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

And  how  you  have  grown  !     I  left  you  a  Httle  boy, 
now  you  look  a  man  of  twenty.' 

*  I  am  nearly  twenty-one,'  he  said. 

*  Yes,  you  must  be.  How  time  flies  !  Leonard, 
how  can  you  keep  your  hands  still  ?  You  shall 
teach  me.* 

'  It  is  practice,  and  natural  predisposition  to  keep 
quiet  at  the  tables,'  he  said.  '  I  inherited  the  second 
from  you,  dear  mother,  and  I  have  had  a  good  deal 
of  the  other  on  my  own  account.' 

Pierre — and  he  should  have  been  given  a  medal 
for  the  act — had  seen  that  this  was  no  interview  for 
him  to  witness,  and,  as  the  others  had  forgotten  his 
presence,  he  went  softly  and  discreetly  out  of  the 
room.  For  a  moment  there  was  silence.  Then 
Leonard  said  : 

'  I  wonder  if  you  realize  what  you  have  done, 
mother.' 

'  What  do  you  mean  ?  ' 

'  You  have  staked  Rhodope  and  lost  it.' 

The  Princess  sat  down  heavily  in  a  chair.  Her 
emotion  dazed  her. 

*  Leonard,  you  can  never  do  it,'  she  said.  '  My 
poor  boy,  you  would  die  in  a  month  at  Rhodope. 
You  would  beggar  the  principality  in  a  night,  and 
a  week  after  you  would  be  dead  of  boredom.  No,  it 
is  too  great  a  sacrifice  !  I  will  not  accept  it.  To- 
morrow I  shall  go  back  to  Rhodope.  I  will  banish 
myself  there,  and  never  play  again.  I  have  seen 
perfection,  and  that  is  you,  and  I  am  content.  I 
have  seen  my  ideal.     Besides,  I  am  a  beggar.' 


BANG !  271 

'  I  insist  on  your  paying  me  your  debt,'  said 
Leonard.  '  You  have  abdicated.  I  am  Hereditary 
Prince  of  Rhodope.  You  shall  come  to  Rhodope 
to-morrow,  and  say  farewell  to  your  people  ;  but 
after  that  you  shall  not  come  to  Rhodope  again,  and 
I  think  you  will  not  care  to.  I  have  played  my  last 
stake.  I  shut  up  every  gambling-house  in  the 
principality,  otherwise  we  shall  be  the  mock  of 
Europe  ;  and  I  will  not  be  Prince  of  a  country  that 
is  one  roulette-board.' 

The  Princess  sprang  up. 

'  You  mean  it,  Leonard  ?  '  she  said.  '  You  will  do 
what  I  have  been  unable  to  do  ?  You  will  save 
Rhodope  ?  Oh,  but  you  cannot — you  cannot  ! 
Think  what  you  are :  how  young ;  how  many 
glorious  nights  of  play  may  lie  before  you  !  ' 

*  I  am  going  to  do  as  I  said,'  he  replied. 
The  Princess  embraced  him  again. 

*  And  I  shall  never  see  Rhodope  any  more,'  she 
cried.  '  Oh,  merciful  heavens !  how  happy  I  am  ! 
But  I  will  go  with  you  and  say  farewell,  and  then 
I  will  come  back  to  Monte  Carlo  for  ever  and  ever. 
I  will  wear  a  lace  cap  at  Rhodope,  and  shed  real 
tears.  I  will  invoke  all  kinds  of  blessings  and  that 
sort  of  thing  on  everybody.  The  poor  Princess 
abdicates  because  of  the  burden  of  State  ;  she  leaves 
the  burden  on  the  shoulders  of  her  dear  son.  The 
laws  of  dramatic  propriety  make  me  go  to  Rhodope 
once  more.  Oh,  Leonard,  although  I  was  deter- 
mined that  you  should  shake  off  this  fatal  habit  of 
gambhng,    I   thought   but   poorly   of  you   when    I 


272  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

imagined  you  were  taking  an  interest  in  mosques 
and  wigwams  ;  but  they  answered  their  purpose, 
you  naughty  boy  !  Those  letters  you  wrote  me  were 
the  acme  of  absurdity.  You  shall  tell  me  all  ycur 
adventures  to-morrow.  Come  !  let  us  get  home  ; 
it  is  day.' 


EPILOGUE. 

It  was  my  fortune,  two  years  ago,  while  drifting 
about  the  Continent,  to  be  passing  through  the 
Riviera  on  my  way  to  Greece,  and,  happening  to 
spend  a  night  at  that  very  pretty  place  Monte  Carlo, 
it  was  not  unnatural  that  I  went  to  take  a  look— no 
more — at  the  tables.  After  that  it  was  easier  of 
demonstration  than  the  first  proposition  of  Euclid 
that  I  laid  a  few  francs  on  a  half-dozen  of  numbers, 
and,  oddly  enough,  I  Won.  Just  as  the  marble 
slowed  down,  though  I  was  too  intent  on  it  to 
raise  my  eyes,  I  saw  that  a  little  stir  of  attentive 
movement  was  going  about  the  room,  and  after 
receiving  my  stake  with  a  studied  negligence — the 
right  pose,  so  I  am  told,  at  tables — I  looked  up. 
Close  beside  me  was  standing  a  very  large  lady, 
with  four  of  the  most  magniiicent  ropes  of  pearls  I 
have  ever  seen  round  her  neck.  She  smiled  affably, 
and  with  a  most  charming  graciousness. 

'  Please  continue,'  she  said  ;  '  you  have  yet  time 
to  stake  on  this  roll.' 

I  at  once  guessed  who  this  great  jewelled  lady 
Was,  and  in  some  confusion  of  mind  laid  a  napoleon 
at  haphazard  on  the  board. 

The    instant    after    the    croupier    set    the    wheel 


274  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

going,  and  I  was  struck  with  consternation,  though 
not  naturally  superstitious,  to  observe  that  the 
number  I  had  chosen  to  back  was  thirteen. 

In  the  room  there  was  dead  silence,  and  looking 
up,  I  saw  the  Princess's  eyes  glued  to  the  table. 
This,  as  I  soon  observed,  was  a  habit  with  that 
remarkable  woman.  The  play  of  others  she  would 
watch  as  if  her  last  franc  was  at  stake  ;  when 
she  played  herself,  it  was  as  if  she  staked  a  six- 
pence. Round  and  round  went  the  marble,  cUck- 
ing  and  whirring  ;  it  slowed  down,  and  I  had  won. 

'  My  dear  young  man,'  said  the  Princess,  '  I  shall 
be  delighted  to  know  your  name,  and  to  receive 
you  in  my  little  private  room  to-night  ;  I  have  a 
small  party  with  me.' 

I  willingly  made  the  Princess  the  present  of  my 
name,  but  regretted  that  circumstances  over  which 
I  had  no  control  made  it  absolutely  impossible  for 
me  to  play  for  the  stakes  she  was  accustomed  to 
risk.     She  scarcely  seemed  to  hear  what  I  said. 

'  Come,'  she  said  ;  '  we  will  begin  at  once.  I 
only  want  one  extra  to-night,  as  we  are  a  house- 
ful.' 

Now,  by  nature  I  am  a  profound  loyalist,  and 
hold  heads  which  are  crowned,  or  have  once  been 
crowned,  in  a  fervour  of  respect.  To  refuse  to  obey 
a  royal  command  seemed  to  me  a  thing  undreamed 
of,  but  to  play  with  the  Princess  was  dipped  in  an 
equal  impossibiUty.  As  We  entered  the  Prin- 
cess's room,  again  I  explained  the  meanness  of 
my  position.     She  looked  at  me  compassionately. 


EPILOGUE.  275 

*  How  much  are  you  prepared  to  lose  ?  '  she 
asked.  '  I  mean,  till  you  had  lost  what  sum, 
would  you  have  remained  in  the  Casino  ?  ' 

I  told  her  the  meagre  total. 

*  Well,  come  and  lose  it  with  me,'  she  said, 
'  instead  of  in  there.  My  room  is  far  more  com- 
fortable, and  you  may  smoke,  of  course.' 

Now  I  disapprove  of  gambling,  especially  for 
those  who,  like  myself,  cannot  afford  it.  I  had 
been  caught,  like  Dr.  Jekyll,  tampering  with  my 
consience,  and  Nemesis,  in  the  person  of  the  Prin- 
cess, had  come  swift  and  stout.  I  resigned  myself, 
I  dare  to  hope,  with  a  fair  grace,  and  after  the 
Princess  had  mentioned  my  name  vaguely  to  a 
host  of  royalties,  laying  little  stress  on  it,  but 
much  stress  on  the  fact  that  she  had  seen  me  win  on 
a  single  number,  and  that  thirteen,  we  sat  down. 
The  situation  reminded  me  of  the  '  Rose  and  the 
Ring.'  The  room  was  full  of  royalty,  and  my 
impression  was  that  I  was  the  only  uncrowned  head 
present.     I  felt  myself  the  apotheosis  of  obscurity. 

However,  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  feeling 
that  I  had  better  curtail  the  evening  as  much  as 
possible,  but  maintain  the  reputation  of  reckless- 
ness, I  proceeded  to  stake  on  single  numbers,  or  on 
two  or  three  at  a  time,  never  backing  more  than  six. 
Whether  it  was  that  the  Goddess  of  Luck  was 
fairly  astounded  bj^  the  sudden  recantation  of  an 
apostate,  or  whether  the  powers  that  be  wished 
to  make  up  to  me  the  missing  of  a  train  the  day 
before,  I  do  not  know,  but  the  fact  remains  that  I 


276  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

simply  could  not  lose.  Pierre's  eyes  were  bright 
with  admiration,  and  soon  from  handing  me  my 
stake  with  a  '  Monsieur,'  he  gave  me  rank  as  '  votre 
altesse.' 

The  clock  by  Vernier  on  the  bracket  seemed  to 
me  never  to  stop  striking.  Hardly  had  one  hour 
died  in  the  air  than  the  next  was  on  the  chime.  I 
was  lost  to  the  nimble  passing  of  the  time,  and  I 
remember  but  little  of  the  next  few  hours,  except 
that  the  heap  of  gold  by  me  grew  like  Alice  when 
she  ate  the  mushroom.  Hardly  a  word  was  ex- 
changed by  anyone,  but  I  recollect,  just  as  the 
clock  struck  twelve,  looking  at  my  hands.  For 
the  moment  I  thought  I  had  an  ague.  I  was 
sitting  next  the  Princess,  and  she  too  observed 
them. 

'  There,  there  !  '  she  said,  as  if  soothing  a  child, 
'  it  may  happen  to  any  of  us.  Your  face  is  all  right. 
But  send  for  a  pair  of  gloves,  if  you  have  none  with 
you.  What  is  your  size  ?  A  large  eight,  I  should 
say.  Pierre,  procure  some  gloves — large  eight — for 
this  gentleman.  Send  one  of  my  footmen.  I  often 
wear  gloves  myself,  and  I  think  I  shall  put  them  on 
now.  I  am  a  little  excited.  We  are  having  a 
charming  evening  !  ' 

One  o'clock  struck,  and  we  adjourned  for  supper. 
As  we  rose  I  suddenly  realized  that  the  excitement 
had  made  me  ravenous,  though  till  then  I  had  not 
been  conscious  of  the  slightest  hunger.  The  ex- 
perience, I  believe,  is  a  common  one. 

We  supped  in  one  of  the  restaurants  in  the  Casino, 


EPILOGUE.  277 

and  I  was  assailed  with  questions.  Why  had  I  not 
been  seen  here  before  ?  or  was  it  that  I  played  at 
other  tables  only  ?  What  was  the  largest  sum  I  had 
ever  won  ?  and  what  did  I  really  entre  amis — (was 
not  that  gratifying  !) — think  about  number  thir- 
teen ?  It  was  in  vain  that  I  pleaded  I  was  no  gam- 
bler, that  I  had  no  ideas  whatever  about  the  num- 
ber thirteen,  except  that  when  thirteen  sat  down 
to  dinner  they  usually  all  lived  for  more  than  a 
year  afterwards.  I  was  listened  to  with  polite  in- 
credulity. I  had  not  known  that  crowned  heads 
were  so  slow  of  belief.  Princess  Sophia,  I  think, 
alone  credited  me  with  speaking  the  truth,  for  she 
said  (and  subsequently  explained  what  she  meant)  : 

'  At  first  I  thought  that  you  were  like  poor 
Petros,  when  he  said  that  he  was  but  a  beginner  at 
bezique,  but  I  think  I  was  wrong.' 

After  an  interval  of  half  an  hour  we  went  back 
to  the  tables.  If  I  had  been  lucky  before,  I  was 
Luck  incarnate  now.  The  thing  was  absurd  and 
ridiculous.  I  won  so  regularly  that  it  became 
almost  monotonous.  For  more  than  an  hour  I 
consistently  played  limit  stakes,  and  still  the  roul- 
eaux of  gold  poured  in.  I  had  recovered  my  nerve, 
and  did  not  again  put  on  the  large  eights,  which 
fitted  me  exactly,  and  from  opposite  I  saw  the 
Princess  looking  at  me  with  a  wistful  air. 

'  It  reminds  me  so  of  a  night  I  spent  with  poor 
Leonard,'  she  said,  half  to  herself,  as  for  the  hun- 
dredth time  her  stake  was  swept  away  to  join  my 
winnings. 


278  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

We  left  the  tables  at  half-past  three,  and  though 
I  had  meant  to  stop  at  Monte  Carlo  only  one  night 
more,  I  found  it  impossible  to  go.  In  fact,  I  engaged 
myself  to  lunch  at  the  Princess's  villa  next  day,  and 
be  of  her  party  again  in  the  evening. 

The  details  of  the  play  during  the  next  few  even- 
ings would  be  tedious  to  relate.  It  will  suffice  to 
say  that  Luck  turned  her  back  on  me,  and  though 
she  could  not  quite  efface  the  result  of  her  lirst 
favours,  I  am  still  not  in  a  position  to  play  roulette 
for  large  sums.  In  fact,  I  have  only  introduced 
this  little  episode  to  explain  how  it  was  that  I  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  Princess,  who  told  me 
the  afore-written  history  of  her  life,  and  graciously 
suggested  that  I  should  make  a  little  book  of  it. 

'  For,  indeed,'  she  said,  '  my  adventures  seem  to 
me  not  uninteresting.  Perhaps  that  is  only  my 
egotism,  but  I  do  not  think  so.  And  as  you  are 
going  away  to-morrow — to  Greece,  I  think  you  said  ? 
— I  will  finish  the  story  of  which  I  have  told  you  a 
part,  and  mention  what  happened  to  Leonard  after 
that  memorable  night  at  Monte  Carlo  when  I 
gambled  for  Rhodope  and  lost.' 

She  sighed. 

'  Poor  dear  Leonard  !  '  she  said  ;  '  that  was  his 
tour  de  force,  his  fine  moment.  He  never  came  near 
it  again.  It  is  sad  to  me  to  think  what  a  mess 
people  make  of  their  lives.  Some  are  born  to  one 
thing,  some  to  another  ;  he  was  certainly  born  to 
be  a  gambler,  but  an  adverse  fate,  like  the  seventh 
godmother  in  the  fairy-tales,  gave  him  a  terrible 


EPILOGUE.  279 

gift.  She  made  him  Prince  of  Rhodope,  and  en- 
dowed him  with  a  mania  for  reformation.  I  call  him 
Luther  sometimes.' 

'  But  surely  you  can  hardly  regret  what  he  has 
done  !  '  I  said.  '  Has  he  not  made  a  power  of  Rho- 
dope ?  ' 

She  shook  her  head  sadly. 

'  He  has  only  done  what  any  obstinate,  stupid, 
and  excellent  man  could  have  done,'  she  said.  '  I 
will  not  argue  that  it  is  a  better  thing  to  be  a  gambler 
than  a  reformer,  but  when  you  are  born  a  gambler, 
it  is  silly  to  devote  your  life  to  reforming.  Some- 
times, when  I  think  of  the  parable  of  the  ten  talents, 

I    wonder '      She    broke    off.     '  Well,    for    my 

story,'  she  said,  after  a  pause.  '  It  is  very  short 
— just  the  sequel  of  what  I  have  already  told  you 
— but  English  people,  I  think,  like  a  story  to  be 
finished  up,  and  to  know  that  the  hero  lives  happily 
ever  afterwards,  and  it  will  do  for  a  little  epilogue. 
In  this  case,  it  is  certainly  true  that  Leonard  has 
lived  happily  ever  afterwards,  for,  indeed,  he  is 
quite  content.  He  has  married,  as  you  know, 
and  he  has  five  children,  none  of  whom  have  ever 
seen  a  pack  of  cards,  and  they  are  all  the  pictures 
of  health,  and  go  to  bed  at  nine.  My  dear  young 
man,  think  what  that  means.  It  is  horrible  !  The 
Education  Department  ought  to  see  to  it.  But  in 
Rhodope,  unfortunately,  I  doubt  whether  even  the 
Education  Department  know  what  cards  are  now. 
Dear  me,  how  things  have  changed  !    Poor  Leonard  ! 

'  Yet  he  is  content,'  she  went  on.     '  He  has  a 


28o  PRINCESS  SOPHIA. 

magnificent  army,  and  I  really  believe  he  will  make 
a  great  power  of  Rhodope.  When  the  Turkish 
Empire  is  broken  up,  you  will  see  he  will  get  a 
great  slice.  And  the  people  adore  him.  They 
think  he  is  the  wisest,  most  Christian,  and  most 
enlightened  of  monarchs,  and  I  am  afraid  that  if 
Leonard  lives  long — and  he  is  sure  to  live  long, 
because  he  always  goes  to  bed  at  half-past  ten,  and 
gets  up  at  a  quarter  past  seven — oh,  that  quarter 
past ! — he  may  get  to  believe  it,  too.  That  would 
be  a  great  pity.     Humility  is  the  first  duty  of  a 

crowned  head,  and  if  the  German  Emp Well, 

I  suppose  I  had  better  not  say  that.' 

'  Please  do,'  said  I. 

She  shook  her  head. 

'  No,  you  must  not  put  that  into  your  book. 
Say  I  stopped  just  in  time  ;  it  will  make  people 
think  how  discreet  I  am,  and,  indeed,  it  is  true. 
But  to  return  to  Leonard.  He  shut  up  every 
gambling-house  in  Rhodope ;  he  even  stopped 
knuckle-bones.  As  I  told  you,  he  had  a  bonfire 
of  all  the  roulette-boards,  and  gradually  he  made 
Rhodope  what  it  is.  He  has  a  passion  for  doing 
his  duty — an  acquired  passion,  I  admit,  but  still 
a  passion.  It  is  a  very  common  passion  nowadays, 
and  you  English  have  got  it  worse  than  anyone. 
You  are  all  too  good,  and  in  consequence,  as  a 
nation,  you  are  just  a  little  dull.' 

'  I  don't  think  that  is  the  result  of  our  goodness,' 
I  said,  for,  like  Stevenson,  I  hate  cynicism  like  the 
devil. 


EPILOGUE.  281 

'  Pardon  me,'  said  the  Princess,  with  some  asperity, 
'  but  I  know  it  is.  I  like  people  to  be  good,  when 
being  good  comes  natural  to  them  ;  but  the  con- 
tinual effort  to  do  one's  duty  is  paralyzing  to  other 
energies.  You  get  developed  incompletely.  Also, 
the  continual  doing  of  one's  duty  makes  one  all 
nose  or  all  forehead,  or  something  disproportionate. 
You  have  not  time  to  be  gay.  Good  gracious  ! 
there  is  the  dressing-gong  !  I  must  go,  so  good- 
bye. I  am  sorry  you  cannot  play  with  us  to-night, 
but  I  think  you  said  you  were  engaged.  I  have 
written  to  Leonard  to  say  you  will  go  to  Amandos 
after  your  visit  to  Athens,  and  I  have  not  told 
him  you  play  roulette,  or  he  would  refuse  to  see 
you.  Good-bye,  and  a  prosperous  voyage.  If 
you  should  get  away  from  your  dinner  early,  you 
will  find  us  at  the  tables,  I  expect.  A  little  rou- 
lette would  be  pleasant,  I  think,  for  a  change. 
The  large  eight  gloves,  which  I  see  you  have  left 
on  the  table,  I  shall  keep  by  me.  When  the  madness 
is  on  me,  and  I  want  to  stake  on  thirteen,  they 
ought  to  bring  me  luck.' 


THE    END, 


THE 

NELSON   LIBRARY 

OF  COPYRIGHT  NOVELS. 


Uniform  with  this   Volume  and  Same  Price. 

A  Few  Recent  Volumes, 

SIR  GEORGE  TRESSADY.  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward. 
"Sir  George  Tressady"  is  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward's  best 
romance  of  high  poHtics.  It  is  a  story  of  a  young  mem- 
ber who  is  gradually  won  to  Democratic  ideas  by  the 
influence  of  a  great  lady— the  "  Marcella  "  of  the  earlier 
novel.  It  is  a  powerful  study  of  the  development  of  a 
fine  character.  The  last  chapters  must  remain  as  one 
of  the  finest  episodes  in  modern  fiction. 

ROMANCE.  Joseph  Conrad  and  F.  M.  HuefFer. 

"  Romance,"  which  Mr.  Joseph  Conrad  wrote  in  collab- 
oration with  Mr.  F.  M.  Huefifer,  is  a  story  of  the 
Spanish  Main,  and  of  the  strange  adventures  of  the 
young  Kentish  gentlemen  among  the  old  Spanish  cities 
of  the  West.  The  story  does  not  belie  its  title,  for  the 
very  soul  of  romance  breathes  in  every  chapter. 

LADY    ROSE'S    DAUGHTER.  Mrs.  H.  Ward. 

In  this  remarkable  novel  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward  has 
worked  the  Hfe  story  of  the  famous  Mademoiselle  de 
Lespinasse  into  a  modern  setting.  It  is  a  study  of 
modern  society  and  high  politics,  and  against  this  glit- 
tering background  we  have  a  very  original  and  charming 
love  story. 


WAR  OF  THE  CAROLINAS.    Meredith  Nicholson. 

Mr.  Mereditli  Nicholson  has  acquired  a  great  reputa- 
tion in  America  by  works  like  "  The  House  of  the 
Thousand  Candles,"  in  which  the  threads  of  romance 
are  woven  into  the  fabric  of  everyday  life.  The  present 
book  is  pure  comedy.  It  is  the  story  of  two  friends 
who  find  themselves,  unknown  to  each  other,  assisting 
on  opposite  sides  in  a  war  between  the  two  daughters 
of  the  Governors  of  the  Carolinas. 


KATHARINE  FRENSHAM.  Miss  Beatrice  Harraden. 

Miss  Harraden,  many  years  ago,  made  her  reputation 
by  "Ships  that  Pass  in  the  Night"  as  a  delicate  and 
subtle  portrayer  of  human  life  and  an  accomplished 
artist  in  feminine  psychology.  Without  any  cheap 
emotional  appeal  she  has  an  unequalled  power  of 
attracting  the  attention  and  winning  the  affections  of 
her  readers.  "Katharine  Frensham"  is  an  admirable 
example  of  this  gift,  and  all  lovers  of  sincere  and 
delicate  art  will  welcome  it. 


FIRST    MEN    IN    THE    MOON.  H.  G.  Wells. 

This  is  a  good  example  of  Mr.  Wells's  scientific  romance 
at  its  best.  It  is  a  story  of  the  first  landing  of  mortals 
in  the  moon ;  of  the  strange  land  they  found  there,  the 
strange  government,  and  the  strange  people.  It  is  a 
nightmare,  but  one  without  horror.  Mr.  Wells's 
imagination  has  created  out  of  wild  shapes  and  figments 
a  world  which  has  got  an  uncanny  reality  of  its  own. 
The  story  grips  the  reader  in  the  first  chapter  and 
carries  him  swiftly  to  the  end. 


.PROFESSOR  ON  THE  CASE.         Jacques  Futrelle. 

Mr.  Jacques  Futrelle  has  attained  in  America,  by  his 
detective  stories,  something  of  the  reputation  of  Sir 
Arthur  Conan  Doyle  in  this  country.  He  has  created 
a  figure  as  original  and  wonderful  as  Sherlock  Holmes. 
The  Professor  is  a  devotee  of  pure  logic,  and  by  acting 
on  the  principle  that  two  and  two  always  make  four,  is 
able  to  elucidate  the  most  baffling  mysteries. 

;cLOVE  AND  THE  SOUL  HUNTERS.  J.O.Hobbes. 

The  late  Mrs.  Craigie  had  a  unique  place  among 
modern  writers.  She  combined  a  brilliant  wit  and  a 
remarkable  gift  of  epigram  with  the  mysticism  of  the 
spiritual  Hfe;  a  union  of  qualities  of  which  we  find 
traces  in  Disraeli's  best  novels,  and  "Love  and  the  Soul 
Hunters  "  is  a  typical  example  of  her  gifts. 

SECRET    OF    THE    LEAGUE.  Ernest  Bramah. 

The  publishers  have  much  pleasure  in  presenting  this 
brilliant  novel  in  a  cheap  form  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
secure  a  wide  popularity.  It  was  first  published  some 
years  ago  under  the  title  of  "What  Might  Have  Been," 
but  the  author  has  since  considerably  revised  and 
remodelled  it.  It  is  a  study  of  the  future  of  our  politics 
under  a  Socialistic  regime.  It  tells  how  the  middle  and 
upper  classes  were  crushed  under  a  dead  weight  of 
taxation  ;  how  a  great  league  was  formed  to  combat  the 
evil ;  and  how  victory  was  won  by  a  device  which  is  at 
once  ingenious  and  convincing.  In  the  French  phrase  it 
gives  the  reader  furiously  to  think,  and  even  those  who 
differ  from  the  author's  forecast  will  delight  in  the  stirring 
narrative  and  the  many  passages  of  trenchant  satire. 


VALERIE    UPTON.  Miss  A.  D.  Sedgwick. 

This  is  a  study  of  one  type  of  the  American  young 
woman,  who,  with  the  phrases  of  self-sacrifice  and 
idealism  always  upon  her  lips,  is  radically  cold-hearted 
and  selfish.  It  is  a  brilliant  character  study,  and  the 
repellent  figure  of  the  daughter  is  relieved  by  the 
gracious  character  of  her  mother — a  character  which  is 
in  many  ways  one  of  the  most  subtle  and  attractive  in 
modern  fiction. 

FARM    OF    THE    DAGGER.  Eden  PhiUpotts. 

Dartmoor  is  as  much  Mr.  Phillpotts's  own  country  by 
right  of  conquest  as  the  Scottish  Borders  were  Sir 
Walter  Scott's,  and  Exmoor  the  late  Mr.  R.  D.  Black- 
more's.  The  present  tale  deals  with  the  time  of  the 
American  War  and  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  It  is  the  study  of  a  feud  between  neighbours  ; 
a  grim  story  of  passion,  relieved  by  a  charming  love 
tale.  The  atmosphere  of  the  moors  is  wonderfully 
rendered,  and  the  men  and  women  of  the  tale  have 
borrowed  from  their  environment  a  kind  of  spacious 
strength.  It  is  also  a  record  of  action  and  adventure, 
and  combines  the  merits  of  a  novel  of  character  with 
those  of  a  fine  romance. 

EXPENSIVE   MISS   DU    CANE.       S.  Macnaughtan. 

This  is  a  comedy  of  a  country  house  in  which  a  number 
of  present-day  types  appear,  drawn  with  admirable 
insight  and  a  touch  of  kindly  irony.  There  is  tragedy 
in  the  tale,  but  tragedy  of  the  kind  common  in  our 
modern  world,  which  is  unspoken  and  scarcely  realized. 
The  heroine  is  singularly  sympathetic  and  carefully 
studied,  and  no  reader  will  be  able  to  avoid  the  spell  of 
her  charm. 


/^No.    5    JOHN    STREET.  Richard  Whiteing. 

This  book,  which  first  brought  Mr.  Whiteing  into  fame, 
is  the  most  realistic  and  powerful  of  modern  studies 
of  slum  life. 

CLEMENTINA.  A.  E.  W.  Mason. 

The  story  of  the  romantic  love  match  of  the  Old 
Pretender,  the  father  of  Prince  Charlie,  and  how  the 
bride  was  stolen  and  carried  to  Italy  by  the  inimitable 
Captain  Wogan.  Mr.  Mason  is  the  true  successor  of 
the  late  Mr.  Seton  Merriman,  and  no  man  living  can 
tell  a  better  tale. 

THE    AMERICAN    PRISONER.       Eden  Phillpotts. 

A  story  of  the  great  war  with  Napoleon.  The  scene 
is  laid  mainly  in  Devon,  and  since  "  Lorna  Doone " 
there  has  been  no  better  picture  of  the  West  Country 
and  its  people. 

JOHN    CHARITY.  H.  A.  Vachell. 

A  story  of  California  in  the  old  days  of  the  Spanish 
dominion. 

LADY    AUDLEY'S    SECRET.  Miss  Braddon. 

Miss  Braddon's  first,  best,  and  most  powerful  story — a 
story  that  shares  with  "  East  Lynne  "  the  distinction  of 
being  the  most  widely-read  novel  of  modern  times. 

,    HIS    HONOR    AND    A    LADY.        Sara  J.  Duncan. 

A  story  of  high  Indian  politics,  in  which  the  great  public 
servant,  who  knows  no  master  but  his  conscience,  is 
contrasted  with  the  time-server,  who  succeeds  where  he 
fails,  and  steps  into  his  shoes.  The  character  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  is  one  of  the  finest  modern  studies 
of  the  best  type  of  British  administrator. 


THE   MAN   FROM   AMERICA. 

Mrs.  Henry  de  la  Pasture. 

This  "sentimental  comedy"  tells  of  an  old  French 
vicomte  who  lives  in  Devon,  of  his  grandchildren,  and 
of  how  the  "  man  from  America,"  the  son  of  a  former 
comrade,  appears  as  a  providence  to  save  his  fortunes. 
Mrs.  De  la  Pasture  has  few  rivals  in  the  delineation  of 
the  little  worries  and  tragedies  of  social  life. 


By  Mrs.  HUMPHRY   WARD. 

MARCELLA.  VL. 

At  a  time  when  Socialism  is  in  the  air,  this  novel  should 
be  read  with  keen  interest.     Marcella  is  a  beautiful, 
high-spirited  girl  who  leaves  her  own  class  to  devote  y\ 
her  life  to  the  service  of  the  poor.  ^ 

THE   MARRIAGE   OF   WILLIAM   ASHE. 

This  book  has  been  universally  acknowledged  to  be  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  of  modern  social  studies.  The 
characters  are  in  the  main  drawn  from  real  personages ; 
and  apart  from  the  dramatic  interest  of  the  story,  much 
light  is  shed  on  certain  aspects  of  modern  political  life. 
Its  place  is  with  the  books  that  do  not  die,  and  it  is  the 
most  attractive  and  brilliant  of  all  Mrs.  Ward's  novels. 

ROBERT   ELSMERE. 

The  famous  book  which  is  the  parent  of  all  modern 
theological  speculations.  Comparable  in  sheer  intel- 
lectual power  to  the  best  work  of  George  Eliot,  and 
unquestionably  the  most  notable  work  of  fiction  that 
has  been  produced  for  years. 

THE    HISTORY   OF    DAVID    GRIEVE. 


OLD    GORGON    GRAHAM.  G.  H.  Lorimer. 

This  is  a  pendant  to  the  "Letters  of  a  Self- Made 
Merchant,"  which  may  be  taken  as  the  gospel  of  the 
American  business  man,  and  which  has  had  an  un- 
precedented success  in  the  United  States  and  in  this 
country. 

THE  HOSTS  OF  THE  LORD.  Flora  Annie  Steel. 
Mrs.  Steel,  after  Mr.  Rudyard  Kipling,  is  the  greatest 
novelist  of  India,  and  in  this  volume  there  is  much  of 
her  best  work.  No  writer  has  shown  more  vividly  the 
contrast  between  the  civilized  life  of  the  Anglo-Indian 
and  the  strange  native  world  of  ancient  fears  and  famine 
around  him. 

MO  ON  FLEET.  J.  Meade  Falkner. 

The  dead  Mohunes  of  Moonfleet,  the  smugglers  who 
invade  their  vault,  a  secret  cipher,  and  hidden  treasure 
are  amongst  the  ingredients  of  as  spirited,  fine-flavoured, 
and  fascinating  a  tale  as  a  man  could  wish  to  read. 

WHITE    FANG.  Jack  London. 

The  press  says  of  "  White  Fang  "  : — "  A  masterpiece  of 
its  kind.  It  rivals,  if  it  does  not  surpass,  the  most 
magical  feats  of  Mr.  Kipling's  genius." — "  A  powerful 
and  fascinating  story." — "A  piece  of  work  showing 
really  amazing  power." 

OWD    BOB.  Alfred  Ollivant. 

This  is  the  saga  of  a  dog,  fully  equal  to  Jack  London's 
"White  Fang,"  and  unequalled  since  "  Rab  and  His 
Friends."  It  is  "a  fine  open-air,  blood-stirring  book, 
to  be  enjoyed  by  all  to  whom  a  dog  is  dear." 

And  many  other  equally  interesting 
'Vi)or\s  of  fiction. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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